Metanoia
by Kaede Ravensdale
Summary: The jail cell door shrieked against its rusted out track, trundling along the rutted floor to add to the silent cacophony of his splitting headache. Looking up through the crust of blood over one eye, he caught sight of the red eyed specter looming over him. "Well brat," the raven said as he stepped inside, "you'd better start praying." Part one of Dark Heart series
1. Hunter's Charge

"A solo mission? Eren, are you sure that that is a good idea?"

Sliding his silver bullet pistol into its proper place at his belt, the brunet rolled his eyes. "For the love of God, Armin. We've both been full-fledged hunters for five years now; I graduated amongst the top 10 of our class, alongside you and Mikasa; I busted my balls for this chance and now that I've finally got it you're trying to tell me that I'm not ready?" he snorted. "Shadis disagrees."

"That isn't what I meant," the blonde replied quietly, frowning slightly at how easily his friend could take offense. "I'm just worried about you. I'm sure Mikasa is, too."

"She would be worried about me, yeah. And that's why I didn't tell her."

"_Eren!_"

"Christ, Armin!" The other finally turned to face him from checking his gear. "I really do not need helicopter sibling today. Dealing with my back seat driver of a best friend is bad enough." Sighing, he narrowed his beryl eyes a moment. "You know, I never knew the both of you doubted my abilities this much."

"That isn't it and you know it; we just don't want to lose you!"

"You won't."

"I'm sorry that I have to say it, but I do; there is a good chance-an almost 85% chance, to be exact-that you won't come back from hunting Kenny Ackerman. No one sent after him has ever returned."

"Hmm." He sounded almost entirely disinterested, which, to the blonde, seemed unfathomable. "Good thing I'm not after Kenny, then."

"You're not?" Armin's eyes were so wide that they looked in danger of falling out of his head and rolling away across the floor. "But I saw Ackerman plainly written on your target list."

"That's because I am after an Ackerman, just not Kenny Ackerman." He straightened the collar of his uniform in a subtle show of nerves. "I'm assigned to take out his nephew, Rivaille."

"Rivaille?" Armin repeated, a look of confusion settling over his face to replace the fear. "I've never heard of a Vampire by that name; if he's an Ackerman than he must be high ranking, so I don't see how."

"You have heard of him, we all have. They just didn't refer to him by his given name in training." Leaning back against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest. "They call him Le Ѐquarrisseur."

Hearing this, the blonde went very pale. "The Butcher. Eren, I know that they call you 'suicidal bastard' but I didn't think it was actually true!"

The brunet blinked at him slowly, like a lizard sunning itself on a rock. "Which part? The 'suicidal' or the 'bastard'?"

"Is that really important? Go back to Shadis and request a group for this assignment!"

"I can't, Armin. Groups have tried to kill him, and they're cut down by his entourage long before they even set eyes on him. I have to go undercover, and for that I'm flying solo."

"But the Butcher-."

"Is Kenny's progeny? Is next in line for command of the Military Police? Is over 500 years old and really fucking powerful? Is an insane bloodthirsty sadist?" Pushing himself off of the wall with a lazy twitch of a foot, he straightened up. "I was at all of the lessons. I know."

"Eren-!"

"You're not going to talk me out of this, so just stop!" And with that his shorter counterpart went silent, but the look of worry didn't fade. Suddenly feeling very tired and old beyond his years, Eren rested a calloused hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll come back; I'll be fine. I promise." At the time he had no way of knowing just how wrong he was.

Rain pattered lightly against the panes of the starkly clean windows of the manor house in downtown Sina, the watery light of the setting sun filtering gently into the spotless room that lay on the other side. The walls were white washed; the curtains, carpeting and bedding an unblemished pearl. Even the cotton bed clothes that he wore-button down, long sleeved and slightly wrinkled form a night of being slept on-were white. He grumbled softly, sitting up on the edge of the bed with his legs barely able to brush the ground. Raising one hand, he carefully rubbed the sleep from his gunmetal eyes and rose to his full 5'3" of height just as the knock came on his bedroom door.

"Rivaille," her voice was laced with the usual respect and a slight tremor of fear; even after all of the years spent under him, she-all of them-were still fearful enough to walk on eggshells in his presence, though through the years they had become adept at doing a good job of hiding it. It made him sad from time to time, but only for the most fleeting of moments. Loneliness had eaten away at his black heart for so long by now that the chilling feeling of it clawing through his veins was second nature. It was for the best. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but your uncle expects you at the Devil's Thorn in one hour; last night you asked that I wake you in time for you to get ready."

"Yes, thank you Petra. I'll be down in a moment." Her footsteps faded quickly down the hallway and disappeared. Crossing his bedroom on silent footsteps, Rivaille pulled open a drawer of his antique dresser and pulled out a dove grey button up shirt, a shade or two darker than his eyes. _This again._ Back across to the closet, from which he pulled a slate colored suit on a hanger and a jet black tie. _Just like every other year. _His sleeping clothes pooled on the floor around his bare feet, the grey shirt pulled over his broad shoulders to frame his well-muscled chest; long thin fingers with well-manicured nails buttoned it up quickly. The jacket followed, and then the tie was secured around his neck in place of his usual cravat. _Diplomacy is Kenny's game, not mine. I suppose that, once the torch is passed to me, I'll just have Petra deal with all of the social crap._ A carefully chosen matching pair of socks worn beneath polished black loafers. A silver watch delicately secured to one thin wrist along with a pair of cufflinks bearing the symbol of the Military Police. Social events; invented by the Devil, the mere thought of such things made him cringe. He liked blood. Thoroughly enjoyed torture…and cleaning. Associating was something he tended to avoid at all costs whenever it wasn't absolutely necessary, as doing so tended to result in his coming into contact with a parade of annoying filthy snot-nosed brats. I was times like these were he considered making a break for the nearest Hunter Sect base just so that he could blow off some steam and have an excuse for showing up late. Stalling for time, Rivaille checked himself in the full length mirror of his room; he ran a hand through his undercut hair and straightened his tie to nit-picky perfection. Then, yet again, another knock on the door. "Yes, Petra?"

"Your car is here, Sir."

_Fuck._ Steeling himself, Rivaille sighed. "Inform the driver that I will be there in five minutes."

A forty minute bus ride to Sina City from Rose; two hours cooped up in a low budget hotel room attempting to come up with ways to body pack weapons without having anyone notice if they were to bump into him; a twenty minute walk down the street dressed like a butler out of Kuroshitsuji and Eren had found himself standing in the kitchens with a group of others.

"Ah, a new guy huh?" a gangly blonde with a pony tail inquired, flashing a smile; Eren swiftly noted that he-like the rest of them-looked very pale and sick and his neck was covered in silver scars. "Any particular reason to work here?"

"Uh…I needed the money, honestly; tuition." He did his best to manage a shy smile. "It was this or stripping, and I don't think my parents would be very happy with that option."

He got the laugh that he had hoped for and the worry over the possibility that his unwitting cohorts would somehow sell him out evaporated instantly. "Name?"

"Oh, I'm Eren Jӓger. Nice to meet you."

"Same, I'm Cole. The party is about to start, and we've got a lot of important guests tonight so we can't afford to wait around. Follow me." He was lead across the kitchen to a counter, at which point he was handed a black serving tray laden with empty crystal wine glasses. "Now, this is a rather simple job; it's a lot like being a waiter. All you do is walk around until someone stops you. They'll let you know when they want anything." A gentle push towards the door was resisted by the nervous brunet.

"W-Wait, what about the drinks. I can't go carrying empty glasses around."

To the much the other grinned before clapping him lightly on the back and shaking his head. "Eren, you _are_ the drink." That had been precisely what he was afraid of; perhaps the whole 'supplicant' angle wasn't such a good idea after all. A second gently nudge had him out the black doorway of the kitchen and into the party outside. The Devil's Thorn was packed, music playing through speakers, an enormous gothic style chandelier infusing the room with a soft blood red light which darkened the banners baring the symbol of the Military Police-leading political party of the entire race of filthy parasites-to almost black; the sight of the horned horse made him internally seethe, but Eren immediately fell back on his training to remain outwardly calm. He did his best to remain focused on the task at hand, eyes scanning the large room filled wall to wall with richly dressed Vampires. He would likely be somewhere towards the center of the room, near his uncle. Black hair and grey eyes was all he had to go on; a very vague description, but it was what he'd have to make do with. The patrons parted before him like the red sea, eyes following his passing with the shadows of wariness and trepidation flickering across their faces; part of him was relieved that no one stopped him and another part-a very small part-was irrationally offended; did he smell bad or something?

"Uncle, please! This farce has only just started and I'm already sick of it!" That voice. Smooth as silk, dark as the finest exotic inks and accented melodically with what he instantly assumed to be French. Stopping dead in his tracks momentarily, he made his way towards the direction from which the honeyed tone of annoyance had issued. He soon made his way to the very center of the room where a circle of black leather couches had been assembled. On one of these couches sat two men, one a great deal older than the other and dressed in Victorian era clothing with a gold-tipped cane at his side. The other was much younger-maybe twenty, maybe thirty, it was impossible to really tell-his chiseled face set into an unreadable expression; thin nose, high cheekbones, full lips. His eyes were the color of sword steel and just as piercing and his hair-worn in an undercut-was as black as a raven's feathers. He was dressed to the nines in a suit and tie, one arm crossed over the other and arms spread carelessly along the back of the sofa. He betrayed no emotion, but the tone of his voice revealed him to be bored out of his skull; that was one hot vampire. Both were surrounded by an invariable harem but neither was paying the scantily clad women any mind. Eren frowned, coming to a stop beside the couch just as the elder Vampire was opening his mouth to respond to the younger's complains only to be cut off when Rivaille demanded "what the shitting hell do you want, brat?" for someone who was just breaking 5'5" at best, he had one mother of a barbed tongue and wasn't in the slightest afraid to use it.

"Uh…" Eren's mind blanked completely and he blinked a few times in rapid succession; shit, he really should have planned this out better. "Can I get anything for you…Lord Ackerman?" He wasn't sure if 'Lord' was overdoing it or not, but it was best to be safe. The raven just sneered at him, revealing perfect white teeth and a pair of needle like fangs.

"No, but you certainly can't get away! Can't you see that you're interrupting, brat?" with that said he raised one hand off of the couch and proceeded to make a sharp shooing motion, manicured nails flashing in the dim light. Not wanting to blow his cover or worse, Eren immediately slunk off into the crowd but he didn't go far; out of earshot but not out of eye sight. "A Hunter; a pleasant surprise. Perhaps this isn't a total shit fest after all, though I can't tell if he's here for me or you Uncle."

Kenny simply grunted at his nephew in reply. "Who he's here for doesn't matter; deal with him. You've behaved rather well tonight, so I'll allow you to do as you please with that human."

"The pleasure is always mine." Rivaille purred like a cat as he got to his feet, already all but tasting the young hunter's blood on his lips. The heavenly smelling blood which the lower caste knew better than to even so much as attempt to touch with their betters around. Casually, he made his way through the crowd to the back exit of the club and excused himself into the alleyway beyond well aware that he was being followed. The rain was falling even harder than earlier, and outside it was cold and dark. He made his way almost to the mouth of the alleyway before stopping and beginning to search his pockets as if looking for a pack of cigarettes. He heard the careful footsteps stop, then begin to slowly prowl forwards towards him. A small closed mouth smile bloomed against his lips before he could stop it at the thought of the game that would soon begin once he had the boy, entirely unsuspecting of the fact that now he was the prey. Finally, just as the other came into reach he whirled around and ceased him by the throat, hoisting him into the air as the wooden stake he'd been armed with skittered off into the darkness. "Caught you, little hunter!" Short, dark brown hair which stuck up almost raggedly in every direction possible, tan skin unmarred by bite wounds, teal eyes screwed half-shut against his futile struggle for air. Yes, he'd enjoy slowly watching the life drain out of those precious gems until they were left colorless; a slow process, over months and even years, where he would take everything that the boy had to give until only a broken empty husk was left behind. But first came the fun part. First came breaking him. "Allez dormir, brat!" He slammed the brunet's head against the concrete wall with all the force that he could muster and, for Eren, everything went black.

When he woke up he was lying on his side on the uneven stone floor of a dungeon cell, his head pounding neck bruised and limbs aching. What had happened? He had no idea. For the moment it was difficult to even remember his own name. Footsteps were drawing towards him, echoing from above; on a stair case most likely, splashing in the little puddles formed by the water which dripped down from the ceiling. Was that why he was soaked? The jail cell door shrieked against its rusted out track, trundling along the rutted floor to add to the silent cacophony of his splitting headache. Looking up through the crust of dried blood that had formed over one eye, he caught sight of the red eyed specter looming over him. "Well brat," the raven said as he stepped inside, "you'd better start praying."


	2. The Art of Breaking

**Somewhat graphic descriptions of torture in this chapter, just a heads up.**

"I still can't believe that he took a mission like that on without telling anyone."

"Oh, believe me, he told _everyone._ Except you, apparently." Jean snorted. "Even Armin knew."

"You did?!" Mikasa demanded as she rounded on him; the blonde immediately quailed and raised his hands to defend himself.

"Yes, I knew; yes, Eren told me; yes, he asked me not to tell you because he knew that you would worry and he didn't want you to try and stop him. I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen; we both know how he can be."

"How long until his next communication?"

"Months, if he sends one at all." Ymir grumbled, picking at her food. "That's how U.C. operations work, you know that."

"He may be stubborn but he isn't stupid. Eren will be fine; we have to believe that." Krista reassured gently. "The Commander wouldn't have sent him in to die; he thinks he's ready so we have to believe that he is."

"We don't really have any other choice." Marco reasoned. "Eren is smart, and he's definitely a fighter. If anyone here can handle Kenny-."

"He isn't after Kenny, he's after Rivaille." Blank looks followed this revelation. "Le Ѐquarrisseur."

"The Butcher? You mean the sadist who hunts Hunters for fun? Who tortures his captives until they lose their minds and beg for death? Kenny's nephew?" Reiner's jaw dropped. "Never mind, Jӓger is going to get his head served to him on a silver platter!"

The glasses and cutlery on the table clattered loudly as Mikasa jumped to her feet, the bench on which she'd been sitting toppling over with a crash that rang out through the enormous room as her eyes flashed; people nearby momentarily ceased their conversations to look over before quickly returning their eyes to their food. "We have to go after him!"

"Are you insane?"

"We can't! It's against procedure!"

"Never mind procedure, our presence wouldn't help him!" Armin raised his voice over the resulting din and the other's immediately quieted to look at him. "Think about it; everyone ever sent after Rivaille Ackerman went in groups of tens, of twenties even, and every single one of them were brutally wiped out within 48 hours. He may be very old and very powerful, and he may be amongst the most cunning of their kind, but in order to stand a chance at slipping passed his coven to get to him would have to be alone. Eren is strong and resourceful; he can do this. All us getting involved will do is get him killed. Deep down, I think you know that."

Narrowing her eyes, she looked away. "I don't like the thought of not knowing. He's my brother; all of the family that I have left." But he was right and she knew it. Pushing her half-finished tray towards Sasha, she turned away from the table and headed for the door of the mess hall, leaving the bench that she'd knocked over lying on the floor. _Eren, what the hell were you thinking? _She wondered sharply, momentarily contemplating punching the solid stone wall before deciding against it and discarding the idea. _If I don't hear back from you within the next three months then I'm going after you myself; I don't care what the other's say. _

Better start praying, he had said. But just who was he supposed to pray to, the empty fucking sky above their heads? He'd given up on belief when he was ten years old and had watched everything that had ever mattered taken from him in a single night. No; he'd known for a long time that the existence of a 'God' was little more than a cruel and useless lie.

"There's no point," his body screamed in pain as the other hauled him onto unsteady feet by the hair.

"No point?" the Vampire repeated in an arctic monotone. "No point in what?"

"Praying. There's nothing up there; no one to hear me. All it is, is a waste of breath."

The already tattered fabric of his clothing ripped loudly beneath razor claws; the cold slimy stone slammed against his back as he was tossed carelessly against the wall. "Nothing up there, hm? By this point, your fragile kind would normally be babbling incessantly about how the grace of your precious maker would save you somehow. A break in that pattern is…refreshing and interesting." His footsteps resounded through the silence as Eren propped himself up against the wall to keep from falling; how could something so short be so menacing? "Or maybe you're just saying that in an effort to prevent me having the satisfaction of hearing you scream and beg."

"No, I truly don't believe. I used to, but not anymore. I see as much point in praying as I do in appealing to your nonexistent mercy, Rivaille."

His thin lips twitched into the slightest ghost of a snarky smile. "An Atheist Hunter? And to think that, before now, I would have considered that to be little more than an oxymoron." The rusted out shackles hanging from the wall clanked dully as they were secured tightly around his wrists. "Might I ask why?"

"Does it matter? You're just going to kill me."

"Yes, I am. But not tonight; this will be your home for many years. You'll never see the sun again, your little hunter friends will never find you, and you'll leave drained dry in a pine wood box! So you'd best acquaint yourself with my company." If such a thing were even possible, he could have sworn he saw the other's eyes flash an even darker vermillion. "No, I'll ask you again. Why?"

Eren snorted dryly and looked away, momentarily wrestling with the possibility of putting up as much a fight as was possible when one was already shackled to a wall and could barely stand on their own. Finally, he sighed. "I way ten years old when I lost my faith, along with everything else. My house, my family, my childhood, all of it taken from me by your filthy kind! In one day I lost everyone but my sister, and I stopped believing. My prayers didn't save them. Heaven's grace hadn't protected them. Wasting my life every damn day on my knees in a church didn't bring them back. This world is a cruel one in which only the strongest survive; there's no point in holding out hope for something better on the other side. I suppose I'm just as soulless as you are in that regard."

Rather than mock or berate him as he'd expected, the other simply made a quiet noise of understanding as if his ranting were entirely reasonable. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Stop acting like you fucking want permission! Stop acting like you give a damn about my opinion! You're going to take from me whatever the hell you want anyway, so stop dancing around it!"

The expressionless mask didn't falter. "Do you believe in the Devil, brat?"

"I've been holding out a conversation with him for the past 10 minutes, haven't I?"

To this much the raven didn't bother to hide his smirk. "I suppose that that is true enough; and in that spirit I've one thing left to say to you. Welcome to Hell." He turned his back on him and headed towards the door, but just when Eren made the mistake of thinking he was leaving and allowed himself to relax he whirled around and drove a roundhouse kick into his face. Eren squealed in shock and pain as another blow, this time from the knee, assailed his stomach and doubled him over. Ceasing the advantage provided by his bowed form, Rivaille hammered the heel of his shoe into the back of his head and smashed his face against the floor. A flurry of brutal curb-stomps followed, far too quickly for him to have even the slightest hope of counting the number. Black spots appeared, dancing in his vision as his teeth cracked and shrieked beneath the pressure and his nose shattered with a sickening crack. Blood poured down his face and onto the floor and he was ceased by the sudden fear that everything would end for him then and there. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the vicious attack stopped. "Look at the mess you've gone and made, you little shit; I'm covered in blood because of you!" He raised a hand when the brunet flinched, but all the raven did was examine the small scarlet stain on the cuff of his suit with a critical frown. "But you do smell magnificent, now don't you." Those words made a cold shudder run down his spine.

_Please, no. _Eren thought, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to press himself into the floor to hide. _I've already been beaten to a pulp. I don't think I can handle being turned into a cocktail tonight._

To his immense relief, the other seemed satisfied for the moment with simply gazing into his suffering filled orbs. "What's your name, brat?"

"Go suck on a stake!"

_WHAM!_ His assailant was wearing loafers, but they felt like steel-toed boots when a kick was driven into his side; he spat more blood onto the already scarlet floor. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Why do you even care?" He didn't understand it; why was this thing that seemed to feed off of agony bouncing back and forth between attacking him and casually asking questions as if they were out on a coffee date. Another sharp strike awarded his hesitation. "Eren!" He spat, furious, badly wanting to use the only weapon left to him-his teeth-but knowing better than to risk swallowing Vampire blood. "Eren Jӓger!" Psychological torture; mind games. That had to be it.

"Now, was that difficult brat?" all that trouble to get him to tell him his name, and yet when he finally had it he refused to use it. "Cooperate, and you'll only receive the beatings that are absolutely necessary to break you." Break him? What possible reason would this monster have to want to shatter his will? Or was it just because it was a challenge; just because he could? As if sensing his thoughts, Rivaille smirked again; every change in his expression was very slight, and yet at the same time seemed all the more exaggerated. "I have plans for you, Eren; once you learn your place in the pecking order, you'll discover what they are."

"My place?" he hissed, considering spitting at him but not wanting to risk any more pain for the moment. "What the hell do you mean 'my place'?"

"I'm your Master now, and you'll be a good little pet and obey my every command. Cooperate, and you'll leave a few years longer than you otherwise would have in relative comfort."

"And if I refuse?"

"You suffer." Turning away, this time for real, he exited the cell and closed the door behind him. "I do hate having to cut this short, but my presence is still required by those useless sots upstairs. We'll speak again soon enough, Eren." His footsteps faded up the stairs and darkness overwhelmed him yet again.

There was no means for him to tell time in the confines of that dismal dungeon; the dripping of water from above was irregular, so he couldn't even use that to mark the time. He tried counting them, but by now he surely had severe head trauma; the numbers were sluggish to come to him and he'd long lost track by the time ten minutes rolled around. Give in, the little voice in the very back of his mind would say, whispering more insistently whenever the raven was near. Pleading with the rest of him to let his surrender drip from his beaten lips along with his blood. But his stubbornness and pride wouldn't allow it. His hatred of their kind wouldn't let him rest. So when the small part of him pleaded 'give in' the rest screamed 'I'll die before I break' and so it was that larger part of himself that Eren went with. Footsteps approached yet again. What was it, the tenth time? The twentieth? He'd eaten nothing, drank little and been beaten plenty. He hung limp in his chains, on his knees, with his hands almost slipping out of the now nearly-too-big cuffs, ribs beginning to show through his skin. By this point he no longer had the strength necessary to raise his head from where his chin rested against his chest. The footsteps stopped yet again outside his cell and, as had become his custom, Rivaille stopped outside the door to observe his captive for a moment.

"Well brat, it's been a month. What say you?" Eren didn't waste the strength necessary to answer; his silence was enough. The sound of the key turning in the neglected lock, then footsteps advancing forwards. Cold fingers slipping beneath his chin to lift it upwards so that he could gaze into his eyes. The spark of will was still there; he frowned. But rather than the punishing blow that had become tradition, he released Eren's head to instead pick up one of his hands to examine him broken bloody nails. A small 'Tch' of disgust passed his lips. "We'll have to get rid of these; they're filthy!" Of course they were filthy, _he_ was filthy; covered in sweat and tears and blood. The raven undid his bonds quickly, hoisting him over one shoulder, where he hung limp, when it became clear that he was too weak to walk on his own. Eren had a good idea that it was most definitely not a manicure that was in store for him long before they reached the room in question, but his hunch wasn't entirely confirmed until his captor had strapped him down to the wooden table. "Start flailing and I'll break your limbs and digits off at every joint!" Rivaille turned back to him and revealed himself to be armed with a wooden wedge and what looked like a knee hammer; confusion as to his intentions lasted only as long as it took for him to fit the smaller end of the wedge underneath his thumb nail. The pain was excruciating as the wooden wedge uprooted his nails from his fingers, inflicting maximum pain with minimum effort and no long term damage. As if he knew that his intentions had come to be to die before giving in. Blood trickled from his fingertips, pooling on the roughhewn table beneath him; Eren barely had the strength left to whimper, but that seemed to be enough to satisfy the monster for the moment. He couldn't keep it up much longer. He knew it, and so did Rivaille. "All you have to do is say it. Three simple words, one syllable each. 'I give up' isn't too much of a mouthful, even in the state you're in now." His voice was a persuasive, almost soothing purr. "Just say it, Eren. You'll be a lot better off once you're out of this dungeon. You'll have food, water," his nose crinkled slightly "a shower; you certainly need one."

"No." It took almost all of his energy to speak in a dry voice that was barely audible. "I will never call you 'master'! I will never bow to you!"

Exhaling through his nose, Rivaille raised a hand to his face in annoyance. "So fucking stubborn! I swear, you'll never learn!" Releasing him from the table, he picked him up again in the same manner as before and carried him back to the cell. Leaving him lying on his front on the freezing floor, he broke a pipe directly overhead so that a regular drip of water began to fall down between his shoulder blades. He left him like that and for days didn't return. The silence. The constant dripping of bone-chilling water. Repeatedly he tried to drag himself clear, but his tender fingertips just scrapped uselessly against the ground and caused more discomfort. What was the point of resisting? There was none. Why was he fighting? He couldn't remember. Even death was not an option for escape from that dungeon. He'd had enough, more than enough. But perhaps, if he made his torturer think he was going along with what he wanted, then he could find a chance to escape. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he again heard the approach of the other's footsteps. What would he say when he found him still lying face down where he'd been left? Would he beat him again? Would he mock him? Would he simply leave him for dead? The other presence remained outside of the door, silent, just staring at him. Then, after what could have been seconds or minutes, turned and once more began receding. It took all of his strength to make even a small noise, and he could only hope that he was heard. The retreating footsteps stopped. "What was that, brat?"

A gasp and a pant later Eren had gathered his strength back together enough to manage a second "wait". The door creaked open and the other's shadow fell over him.

"And just what is it that I'm waiting for, brat?" no longer able to speak he instead settled for inching his hand forwards to gently grab the other's ankle; it was thin but not boney and protected beneath a layer of pants fabric and clean sock. "Is this your way of giving up?" a nod was all that he could muster; he could feel his hold on consciousness rapidly slipping away now. "You can't speak, can you?" no answer. "Well it's less eloquent than I would have liked, but I suppose I'll simply have to except your defeat as what it is." The chains clanked as they were replaced in the corner of the room, the metallic sound distant to his ears. The cold hand on his back barely registered as he was dragged off of the ground and once more thrown carelessly across the other's shoulders. The black spots had returned, first small and swift but rapidly becoming large and slow. Mossy dungeon stairs, pitted by age and dotted by tiny puddles; the now empty club room lit by sunlight and hung with the silent banners; a black car idling on the curb outside. His body was flung without ceremony into the back seat and the door closed with a snap moment's afterwards. "Be quick about it, he's fading!" Everything after that was overwhelmed by black.


	3. Sit, Stay, Bad Brat!

**1: Go fuck himself with a wooden stake**

Six hours later it was assured that his newest toy would survive; pity that he would have to be more mindful of the amount of strength that he used. Sometimes he forgot just how fragile humans truly were. How easy it was to crush bones and damage something vital. Yes, his newest toy would have to be treated rather like fine china; abused to-but not passed-the point of breaking in his hands until the time came where he finally tired of his presence and finished him off. But that, he felt confident, would not be for quite a while; not only was his scent entirely delectable-of course he would have to be better tamed, and cleaned, before he could begin to serve that purpose-but his hunter captive was a striking little thing, intoxicating to look at even with his face swollen black and blue. The tea cup clattered gently against its saucer as he set it down on the table before reclining in the fine leather chair in the expansive library of his town house in Sina, but a rapid knock on the door interrupted him before he could even begin to read the book he had selected. They were flung wide before he could speak, revealing the unmistakable black clad figure of the last person on the face of the earth he wanted to see in that moment.

"Uncle," he greeted coolly, containing his displeasure only barely by a thread. "What is it that I can do for you today?"

"What became of the Hunter-sect gate crasher; have you done away with him yet?"

"No, not yet. At the moment, he's in the guest bedroom upstairs, unconscious and sprawled across the mattress. But he'll survive." With nothing left to do but make like he was busy in the hope that his unwanted guest would get the hint and go away, he picked up his tea for the second time.

"What are you waiting for, Rivaille? You'd normally have left ten mutilated victims in your wake by now, so what is it about this one?"

"Simple; I have plans for him."

"Plans?"

"In case you didn't notice, he's type AB; very rare to come by, especially in this age. Having him here is much more convenient than rooting around in the filth of the streets for food, and this way I can make sure that my meal is clean."

"You're telling me that you're planning to make a Supplicant out of a Hunter?"

"You did tell me that I could do with Eren Jӓger as I pleased." He had him there, and they both knew it.

"Supplication requires a bond; though be it a very basic one, you've always run from contact screaming. I say he'll last another week before you tire and slaughter him." With the eyes of the younger burning holes in his back, Kenny got to his feet and left.

Plans of reading crushed to tiny pieces and the appeal of the tea in his cup vanished completely, Rivaille left the library behind in a rush and ascended the two flights of stairs before making his way to the great bedroom. Eren, still unconscious, lay sprawled amidst a mound of plush throws and silky sheets. The thought of how dirty he was made him inwardly shudder, but at the moment a bath would likely only result in his prize drowning in the tub so he had little choice but to deal with things as they were for now. The boy looked so peaceful, so defenseless, lying on his side with his bruised face half buried in the pillow and his thin wrists crossed over each other. For a hunter, Eren Jӓger was very fragile. But that, he supposed, came with being so young; the kid couldn't have been any older than 17. Rivaille drew forward until he was standing flush against the side of the bed, staring down at the slumbering youth. Watching him breathe; watching the pulse of his resting heartbeat thudding against the thin skin of his neck. _Run away from social contact screaming, do I? _He thought with a vicious sneer, reaching out to grab him by the hair and tilt his head roughly to a different angle all too aware of how simply it would be to rip it clean off his shoulders. _He'll only last another week, will he?_ He was done with it. Sick and tired of his Uncle always giving him his shit. And the worst part about it all was that Kenny normally ended up being right. But not this time. _Not_ this time. Come hell or high water he would tame the striking former hunter into an obedient little slave who would obey his every command without the slightest question. By hook or by crook, he would make the perfect Supplicant out of him. And all of it for the purpose of finally, _finally_ proving his Uncle wrong.

Eren slowly regained consciousness to find himself buried alive in a mound of pleasantly warm high quality fabrics. What had happened, exactly? It took him a few moments to remember, but when he did he shot upright and nearly head-butted the ginger haired woman who had been standing over the bed in a gentle attempt to rouse him. Recognizing that the small of stature woman was in fact a Vampire, and thus a genuine threat to his wellbeing, Eren attempted to press himself into the wall in hopes of disappearing. Sadly, it seemed that the woman could still see him despite his poorly planned attempt at blending in.

"Ah, so you're finally awake?" she asked him sweetly, offering up a friendly smile that he wanted no part of. "Rivaille has been coming in bi-hourly to check on you, and leaving disappointed each time. I'll inform him that you've woken; he'll want to see you as soon as you've cleaned yourself up."

"I don't give a damn what that bastard wants! I'm not answering to his beckon call like some shitty lapdog! So go ahead, tell him I'm awake! While you're at it, inform him that it is my most sincere wish for him to ins knie ficken selbst mit einem holzpfahl!(1)"

For a moment she simply blinked her amber hued eyes at him, struck into confusion by his outburst in his native tongue with which she was clearly not familiar. The woman recovered remarkably quickly, and when she did it was clear that she was far from pleased. "I'm going to warn you once and only once, so I advise that you listen. Rivaille is a pure blood Vampire, not a human who was turned; I've known him since we were both very young and as such can attest to his pride, and to the consequences of damaging it. He is not a man whose patience it is wise to test."

"Why the fuck should that make a damn bit of difference to me? Death at the hands of a Vampire is something every single one of us except as our inevitable end when we take up weapons to fight against you disgusting parasites! There is no higher honor than to die in the furtherance of our cause; I'd rather die than serve a monster like him!"

"Be careful what you wish for, as you may well meet the Reaper in short order talking like that!" She chided him, sounding stern and almost motherly. Almost as if she cared. It made his skin crawl. "Whether you value your life or not, the fact remains that, at the moment, compliance isn't a choice. It's required." Pulling open a dresser drawer with more force than was probably necessary, the female vampire pulled out a clean outfit and straightened up to face him. "I'll show you to the showers."

He wanted to continue resisting and refusing, but he was rather sure that that would only get him so far before he was dragged to the showers by force. And the forming protests died on his lips the moment that Eren realized that a trip to the showers would be a chance to begin mapping out his new surroundings and begin formulating a workable plan of escape. Sighing, he allowed his shoulders to sag in defeat. "Alright, fine! But only because I really need a fucking shower!" His tan skin was covered in a film of grit and sweat and blood that was frankly just disgusting, he itched all over because of it and his hair was a greasy mess.

"Follow me," the ginger woman, as of yet still unnamed, lead him out of what he assumed to be the guest bedroom and down a long hallway passed a standing army of firmly shut doors to the bathroom at the very end. Aside from the communal showers back at the barracks which, in all honesty, had been more than a little bit gross, Eren was used to bathrooms not exceeding the size of a glorified closet. The bathroom he was currently standing in rivaled the size of the dorm rooms where he'd spent most of his life since entering training living and sleeping in and was spotlessly clean with every surface gleaming back at him. It was lit by a single fixture hanging over an enormous mirror with three white lights screwed into it that were so bright they were like miniature suns. Granite tiles coated the floor beneath his feet and rose half way up the walls, dark brown speckled with black and white like a sparrow's feathers, and the rest of the walls leading up to the ceiling were painted in a tasteful storm grey. The counter top and tub were also granite, the cabinets black and the wooden fixtures-showerhead, handles and faucets-all in gleaming pewter. The woman set his new clothing down on the counter along with a fresh towel, then proceeded to turn on the water for him before leaving. Now alone in the gigantic bathroom, Eren sighed and stripped down. No windows were in the room in question, so it was no use plotting an escape through that avenue. Besides, the hiss of the warm water and the promise it gave him of being clean at long last was all bur irresistible at this point. Looking at himself in the mirror, he was minorly shocked at what he saw; his face was puffy, his nose showing clear signs of being broken but thankfully not out of place and his body showing the first signs of starvation. He looked like shit. Eren stepped beneath the stream of water, feeling it warm his skin and run down along his back and shoulders. He grabbed what he found-shampoo and soap and body wash-and used it without really caring what it was, just wanting to get all of the blood and filth off of him; wanting to watch the dungeon where he had been held and all of the pain and suffering that he had gone through there go spinning down the hyper-polished drain. To feel human again, normal again, if only for just a moment. He was forced to leave the shower when the water became too cold for him to bear. The towel that had been left for him was very fluffy, soft and clean. Eren dried himself the best that he could before turning his attention to the clothing that had been left behind for him. Black slacks, a pale, almost silvery grey button down shirt and loafers much like what he had seen his captor wearing on the night of his failed mission. Surprisingly everything fit perfectly; the bastard had used the time gap provided by his unconscious state to get prepared. With no brush anywhere to be found, Eren ran a hand quickly though his damp chocolate tresses before emerging from the steamy bathroom. What he found waiting in the hallway for him was a most unwelcome sight.

"So Petra did as I asked and showed you to the showers, then? Glad to see that everything fits." On anyone else that voice would have sent shudders of blazing desire through him, but from Rivaille's thin lips it only made slivers of ice shoot down his spine. The Lord of the house peeled himself languidly from the wall, crossing his arms over his chest before setting to shamelessly observing him. He was now dressed in a rather army-esque ensemble complete with leather straps, a white cravat and a cut off jacket bearing the symbol of the Military Police. "Come along, brat. I'll have you for dinner."

"No thanks," Eren backed up until his body pressed against the closed door of the bathroom; he'd thought for sure that he'd have at least a few more days before he started being used as a juice box.

"How completely childish are you? Or perhaps you're just stupid." Rivaille drawled, his upper lip curling back in annoyance. "Very well, brat; allow me to rephrase; follow me to the dining room so that we can eat dinner together. We're having Magret de Canard tonight; duck breast with Haricots Verts and Potatoes."

Eren had no interest in sharing a meal with the monster, he hadn't even been aware that Vampires _did _eat until that moment, but the mere mention of a real meal after so long had him salivating. Lowering his eyes to his feet and nudging the edge of the venetian rug with the toe of his shoe, he sighed. "That…sounds really good, actually." How it irked him to say it.

"After the amount of time you spent in that dungeon without even so much as a mouthful of food, I would bet it does." The raven motioned for him to proceed ahead of him. "The dining room is this way." Once more through the halls of the mansion-town house, passed all those tightly closed doors, down a flight of curving marble stairs, passed a pair of darkly stained wooden double doors-the front doors which bared his way to his rightful freedom-to the bottom floor. Here, he found himself escorted to the dining room. Less of a room and more of a hall in and of its own, the enormous space was unique from what he had seen up until then in its circular shape; the walls were painted in a light cocoa-butter brown and inset with ten windows spaced at even intervals and framed in sheer white curtains. Another enormous chandelier much like the one which had lit the club hose illuminated the space in a dim light, crafted of wrought iron and so old fashioned that tea candles and not lightbulbs were the source of its soft glow; it hung low over a long table flanked on each side by two dozen matching wooden chairs patterned in high polish wood stain; though the room was currently empty aside from them, should he need to be the man was well prepared for important company en masse. A porcelain plate and silver cutlery was laid out on each end of the table, already filled with portions of the night's meal-an herb crusted loin of dark red duck breast, accompanied by a white wine sauce, boiled potatoes and what looked like green beans-taken from the large serving platter now situated in the center of the table. Acting the regular gentleman, his host pulled out his chair for him before proceeding to his own. "Sit, brat." So he sat, him at one side of the table and his unorthodox company on the other. "You don't need to inspect everything for rat poison; if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't bother with subtlety; given my track record, I think you know that." Barely sparing the other a second glance, he picked up his fork and knife and started eating. Eren quickly found himself looking on in minor fascination at the other's thin wrists and long fingers as he smoothly manipulated the polished cutlery. Thin wrists, the right one still laden by the same watch; closer inspection revealed it to be a silver Rolex with an onyx plated face. Spotless clothes which somehow managed to remain free of wrinkles despite being worn; a tan cut of jacket, matching pants and crisp white shirt. How comfortable that he seemed while wearing them confirmed his earlier assumption that they were infeed his usual preferred clothing. This was the first real chance he'd had to be able to observe him since the night of the disaster which had been his undercover operation at the Devil's Thorn, and despite his dislike of the man-if he could even reasonably call him that-he gladly took it. Jade eyes scanned the others downturned face as he fumbled with his own fork, half aware that he had his elbows resting shamelessly on the table top not that the other seemed to notice; observing the precise way that the raven tresses-mid-length in the front and trimmed down almost to a buzz cut in the back-framed his face. It seemed to be an odd contrast, but considering that this was a man who didn't so much as give a twitch unless it was necessary there was doubtlessly some reason for it. And it was undeniable he wore it well. The raven was beautiful in a way that was to be respected and feared; it was the same deadly beauty as was held by a shard of bloody glass glistening on the rain slicked pavement of the city sidewalk. The same beauty as was held by a well-balanced sword, or a hunting tiger. Free for the moment of the other's frozen glare, he took the chance to eat in peace and had cleaned the plate in front of him in a matter of seconds. His eyes flickered from the raven, sitting on the opposite head of the table apparently fully engrossed in the glass of dark violet wine in his hand, to the serving platter between them and back again. Rivaille took a cursory sip before setting it back down on the table; he still wasn't even half way through his own food. Eren opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again and frowned; good behavior may well be necessary to ultimately getting the hell out of dodge in one piece but it sure as hell wasn't going to be easy, and his pride wasn't about to allow him to ask for anything. The edge of the platter was just barely too far for him to reach while sitting down; stealthily as he could manage, he carefully raised himself out of the chair to inch his hand further across the table until he finally caught hold of item then began the process of getting the plate closer to him before-. "Mind telling me just what it is that you think you're doing, brat?" he froze instantly, an overwhelming feeling of being chastised coming over him, but didn't release his hold on the plate. "If you want more food just take it. You don't need to act like James Bond." Eren stared at him in mild fright a moment longer before testing the waters by pulling the plate the rest of the way towards him, all the while with the bored grey gaze of the other weighing down on his shoulders like a ten ton weight. "Eat as much as you like; how thin you've become makes it rather clear you need it. I don't want you to go and die over something as stupidly preventable as starvation." That statement stopped Eren dead in his tracks, his eyes flashing up to meet Rivaille's again as a dumbstruck expression crossed his face. "I've told you time and time again that I have plans for you, Jӓger. In order for you to serve the purpose for which you have been brought here, you can't go dying before your time. Don't ever doubt that I will kill you without hesitation if you refuse to obey, but cooperate and you'll have no reason to fear and will want for nothing for the rest of your life."

_Aside from my freedom._ He lowered his gaze to the untouched cup of wine someone had poured him when they'd assembled his plate. Transferring more food over onto his own plate, he started eating again all too aware of the Vampire's careful watch over his every movement. "You said back when I was in that dungeon that you wanted me to call you 'master'?" the thought of it made him cringe.

"Maître is preferred, but same principle yes."

Still keeping his eyes carefully averted, Eren nodded. "If I may ask, what exactly is my purpose here…Maître?" the word was rather difficult for him to pronounce and tasted toxic as it rolled off his tongue.

"If you'll agree to be civil, then I'll explain in detail exactly why it is you're here. If you cannot, I'll wait until you're better able to hold your tongue."

"I'll be civil, Maître." His pride wanted to strangle him in that moment, but survival was more important. "Please, explain it to me."

"You are a hunter, so I'm sure that you're well aware of what a Supplicant entails? Especially considering that you were using some as your camouflage the other night." Rivaille stopped speaking to look at him expectantly, clearly to have him answer before he would continue. Eren stalled for time as long as he could, taking a long sip of the heady wine and swishing the liquid around in his mouth until his tongue started tasting like it.

"I'm…somewhat aware. It was a topic that was broached, but never fully discussed, during training." He made a point of carefully setting the glass down.

"Those so-called Supplicants who you employed as an unwitting smoke screen weren't true Supplicants. Not in the sense that such a title was originally meant to mean." Rivialle informed him. "They're communal trash, no different than prostitutes. Filthy! Disgusting!" The raven made a far which, in any other situation, Eren would have found to be hysterical. "Supplication is a sacred right; and old practice, which had just begun dying out when I was born. Many of the so-called aristocracy of this age are no longer even aware that such a thing ever existed at all. A Supplicant is, in simple terms, a pet of sorts. A partner. It is a symbiotic relationship between a Human and a Vampire; in return for unquestioning obedience and unrestricted excess to their blood a Supplicant is protected and cared for by their master for as long as they live. Their body begins to replenish blood at a much faster rate to keep up with their master's needs and-at least according to the stories-the Human's life is lengthened by two, perhaps even three hundred years."

"And…you want me to become your Supplicant?" he received a crisp nod. "Why?"

"For one thing, looking at you is like looking at the fucking sun; you're a pretty little thing, not delicate but pretty, and having you listed amongst my possessions will only serve all the more to cement my status. For another, your blood is exceedingly rare; type AB is both my personal favorite and a bitch to come by." Torture and eventual murder was something he'd accepted as a possibility when he'd taken this mission on. Being turned into arm candy, however, was not. But before Eren could even think of formulating a response, the Vampire in front of him plowed onwards. "Also, it's a matter of convenience on my part; having a Supplicant means I will no longer have to expend the time and energy hunting down prey. And on top of that I can rest assured you're free of defect and disease."

A pair of fangs in your neck was every hunter's worst nightmare, but if he wanted to survive this it didn't look like he had any other choice. "U-Uh…I'm not sure…how I feel about this. I need some time?"

"You'll have plenty; you need to gain back your lost weight before we can begin." The doors leading to the kitchen swung open and a dish of desert was brought out to join the rest of the food. Unveiling his fangs once more in a victorious grin, Rivaille motioned to the steaming confection. "What are you waiting for, brat? Eat."

A long night of patrol on the barrack's walls was finally behind her, and it was with a tired sigh and heavily lidded eyes that Mikasa Ackerman dropped onto the edge of her bed in the girl's dorm to unlace her boots and free her aching feet. Over a month into his mission and still no communication from her brother; she worried too much on his account, and so she tried to push it out of her mind but the nagging feeling that something was very wrong was soon to return. He should have called at least once by now. The others said that she needed to put it out of her mind and let him do his job. Her too tight straps released her bruised flesh as she swiftly changed out of her uniform and into night clothes; they'd all done it so many times now that nobody cared if anyone else was looking. It was utter bliss to crawl into bed, the darkness of sleep surrounding her instantly alongside the warmth of the sheets and the softness of her pillow. Sadly, she did not go undisturbed by dreams tonight.

_ The forest was dark and very cold; they stood together in the middle of an empty clearing, surrounded by barren trees and dead grass. A frigid wind hissed around them, lifting his uneven bangs back from his face as his familiar gaze panned over her. _

_ "You know that I can take care of myself Mikasa. I may not have graduated #1, but #5 is nothing to sneeze at. You should really have more faith in me."_

_ "I know, and I do! Really! I don't doubt your strength, Eren, and I never have it's just…" she looked away with a heavy sigh. "Sometimes you can be so reckless. And recklessness leads to stupid mistakes."_

_ "I'm not going to be reckless on this, I know my limits." His large warm hand enclosed her smaller one, gently tugging on it in an effort to get her attention; dry hissing that she passed off as more wind drew towards them through the brown grass. "Mika, please. Why won't you look at me?" Another tug. Sighing in annoyance she turned back towards him and froze, her eyes widening in fear. "What is it? What's wrong?" Behind him rose the biggest serpent she'd ever seen in her entire life; 40 feet long from nose to tail and as thick around as a sequoia, the thing was covered in glossy black scales and its grey eyes were fixed hungrily on Eren. It coils were around him in a flash, choking the life from her brother's body as the sound of cracking bones rang out through the cracking. She tried to call out to him but no sound would come out and started forwards, but her weapons were nowhere to be found and it felt as if she were slogging through frozen molasses. The Leviathan's head shot forwards towards her, enormous jaws snapping open to unleash a deafening hiss; the dream was so vividly real that she could see the pale blue-white color or its hollow fangs that were the size of her forearms, and make out the contrast between its purple forked tongue and the pinkish-white flesh of its mouth._

She sat bolt upright in bed with a scream nearly knocking Krista, who had been trying to wake her, off of the bed and onto the wooden floor below but her hunter reflexes save her. "Mikasa, calm down!"

"No, I'm not going to calm down!" Eren. Her brother. It was all so real; her body was shaking and she was fighting unsuccessfully against tears. "It's Eren! He's in danger! I know he is! That snake…it was crushing him; Rivaille already has him!"

"It was just a dream, Mikasa." Her friend soothed, pulling her closer and stroking her hair. "He's fine; Eren is fine. Your brother is going to be fine." Quietly soothing, rocking her gently back and forth until her sobs subsided and her shoulders stopped shaking. Once it was over everyone in the dorm simply went back to sleep, understanding her panic and all too used to nightmares amongst their numbers but not truly affected by them themselves. As she slowly, reluctantly, drifted back to sleep worry for her brother still plagued her.

Freedom. That was his greatest weapon now, the freedom to wander about the house almost as he pleased. To map out the halls and rooms and corridors; every door knob, every floor board, every inch of crown molding on the walls he knew; he felt confident of that. The library, cavernous to a degree that Eren never knew a room could be, filled with 20 foot book shelves stacked floor to ceiling with rare and valuable books; the trophy room with glass cases filled with exotic weapons and beaten trinkets that, with a chill, he realized had once belonged to fallen hunters, and the walls lined with heads and the taxidermied bodies of rare game animals from around the world; the garage filled with a multitude of sports cars, Porches and Hellcats and Maserati's and an assortment of cars he couldn't even name; the music room, complete with a gigantic grand piano which Rivaille would often sit at but Eren had yet to see him play. Once, a house like this would have been his greatest dream. But now he had no interest in all the toys that it provided; the price was simply too high. Thus far he'd been protected by his underfed status, but now his strength had almost fully returned and he had no illusion to the fact that the clock was ticking. Waiting until the dead of night when the house was silent and he was almost sure that the rest were asleep, Eren snuck out of what had become his bedroom and down the grand staircase to the bottom floor. The enormous front room was silent and still, the high polished marble flooring beneath his feet glittering dimly in the silver moonlight streaming in from the windows set high into the wall over the front doors. True freedom was so close that he could almost taste it, feel it like a heartbeat as his hand wound around the molded brushed bronze door handle and yanked. The door refused to budge. _Shit!_ Was it stuck? He yanked again, harder this time, only to receive the same result. _Shit! _It was locked. It was locked! _Fuck! No! Fuck! FUCK!_ Eren heard the soft shift of the floor boards overhead and froze, feeling the blood slowly drain from his face. Slowly, he turned around to look already well aware of what he would see. And there, leaning over the banister leering down at him with glowing eyes, face set into a look of marked displeasure, was Rivaille.

"Too soon, it would seem, to allow you this much freedom. Looks like I'll have to finish breaking you the hard way, since it seems you'll only learn to obey through physical torment." Eren went back to wildly, uselessly, yanking on the doors as the footsteps slowly descended the stairs towards him, his heart beating out of his chest. Fingers knotted in his hair, grabbing a fistful of it and yanking him back before throwing him to the floor. He slid a bit on the tile, tried to scramble up onto all fours, but before he could the other's foot descended on the small of his back with brutal force. Eren squealed in pain but his tormentor had no mercy; he continued the assault, delivering savage kicks and stomps all over his prone and helpless form. "Pouvez-vous ne pas obe'ir? Est-il uraiment si difficile?" He had no idea what it was that his attacker was saying, but he knew from his tone alone that he was more than just displeased. By the scruff of his neck Eren was dragged up off the ground. "Votre obstination sera votre mort, je vous le promets!" Rivaille tossed him towards the stairs, and he lost his footing and crashed painfully against them knocking the wind from his body. "Do you want to go back to that dungeon, brat? Continue with your refusals, and I will throw you into the bowels of hell to rot! _I will kill you, Eren Jӓger, if you force my hand!" _Again he hit the floor and tried to scramble away, but was caught hold off and tossed onto the bed. The red eyed monster drew down on him, pinning him to the bed with a body as moveable as a stone statue, and in an act of fear and desperation Eren wrapped his hands around his own throat to shield himself from the other's fangs. "Let go," Rivaille hissed, but he whimpered and shook his head. "Let _go_, brat!" He grabbed his wrists, crushing them painfully, and tore his arms away from his body to leave him vulnerable below him.

"No! No, please! _No!_" But the monster paid his pleas and cries no mind. White hot agony knifed through Eren's body as Rivaille sank his fangs as deep into his throat as they would go with a sound like someone biting into the soft flesh of a ripe pair. Eren squirmed and whimpered, tears pooling in his eyes and then spilling down his face as he pounded on his attacker's chest and back until his strength gave out and he just lay there, listening to the wet slurping sounds and feeling the life draining from his body and into the feeding vampire as his heart beat began to slow. So this was the end for him? A botched escape attempt was all it took to show that he couldn't, wouldn't, bow and so now the monster was just going to drain him dry? And there was nothing he could do. His sister. His best friend. He'd never see either of them again. How he wished he'd followed Armin's advice and spoken to Mikasa just one last time. _You were right._ Even the pain was fading from him now. _I wasn't ready. _Just as the fangs slid out of his throat, his eyes rolled back up into his skull and awareness faded away into unfeeling.


	4. Stockholm's and Lima

**This is probably the shortest chapter in this story; it went a lot quicker than I would have liked and also didn't turn out quite as well as I had planned but I'm not entirely sure how I can fix that so I'll just have to deal. OOC warning.**

**Just in case an explanation is wanted or required in regards to the name of this chapter, Stockholm's syndrome is also called 'capture-bonding' and is when a hostage develops feelings of sympathy and empathy for their captors. Lima syndrome is the reverse of that, in which captors develop sympathy and empathy for their hostages.**

**Translations: **

**(1(1) – I'm sorry.**

He hadn't expected to ever regain consciousness again, so when he found himself awake it came as a surprise. His body was bruised and ached all over and his neck was on fire from the two enormous puncture marks left behind by the raven's bite. His vision was hazy, skin clammy and limbs weak from the heavy blood loss resulting from the Vampire's feeding session. The bedroom door was open just a crack and there was a good chance that he could still escape provided that his legs were strong enough at current to support his body weight. Eren almost toppled over when he tried to get up onto all fours the first time, but eventually managed it. His feet nearly froze solid when they came into contact with the cold wooden floor, and he hissed slightly before standing up. Something yanked him, hard, back onto the bed by the throat and he ended up once more sprawled across the covers. _What the hell? _Cursing under his breath, he threw an arm over his chest and onto his neck and felt his fingers wrap around the leather dog collar which had been tightly secured there. _Fuck!_ He was really screwed this time. Collared and chained to the bed like some naughty pet. Taunted by the just barely open door which remained stubbornly out of his reach. With nothing left to do, Eren lay there on his back staring at the ceiling; staring out the window as the shadows lengthened into night. He had nothing to say to Rivaille when the raven came in the force feed him the scraps from his table, or to tear his threat open yet again and drink until he fell unconscious. Time passed and it all fell into a hateful pattern. A routine. He loathed it. Loathed his captor. Loathed himself for not even managing to get himself killed correctly. He wanted so badly to be free again. To feel the sun. To feel the rain. To see his sister and friends again. Wanted the outside world, which was familiar and welcoming…and terrifying. The sun would burn him. The rain would chill him. His friends and sister had never believed in him; they'd always thought him weaker; lesser; they'd never really cared. But his master was different. His master loved and cared for him, kept him warm and comfortable. Kept him company and fed him from his own plate, from his own hand. It felt good to be bruised; good to be used. When the raven came to him, tore back his head by the hair, broke his skin and stressed his body until it screamed and drank deep of his blood he welcomed it. Because it meant that he was being useful. So on the day that Rivaille walked into the room where Eren was being held and heard the brunet call him 'master' for the first time he knew that he had won. And that triumph was what had lead him to willingly summon his uncle back to his home.

"I'm sure that you remember the hunter that you gave over to me to do with as I pleased?"

"Come to admit that you couldn't do it? That you killed him? That I was right?" the elder snorted. "Just face it Rivaille, you'll never be able to prove me wrong. I raised you, you worthless cur, and I'm well aware of all your failings."

Normally that would have left him struggling not to attack the elder, but today all that it elicited from him was a strained sigh. "Actually, quite the opposite Uncle. I've called you here to prove t you that, despite what he says, the great and powerful Kenny Ackerman isn't always right." How he relished the look now plastered to the other's face. "Eren, get in here!" A moment of silence, then rapid footsteps rushing down the hallway towards them. The wide eyed brunet nearly tripped over himself as he barreled into the library with a look of panic plastered to his face.

"M-M-Maître, I'm sorry Sir! There's a problem with the stove and we're trying to fix it; it will be a while longer before your tea is ready Sir."

"Forget the God damn tea and get your ass over here, Jӓger!" Again the youth almost toppled over in his haste to be obedient, scurrying over the floorboards to stand at his side with his eyes riveted on his feet.

"So you've tamed your hunter after all, have you?"

"Obviously."

"He's terrified of you."

"As he should be; he knows the consequences of disobedience and my displeasure."

"If you think that this changes a damn thing, you're wrong." The refusal of the other to admit defeat wasn't surprising, but at the same time that was the last thing he had expected to hear. "It doesn't mean jack shit, Rivaille. You've a slave at your side, but that makes no difference. You're still a failure. Still unwanted. The Human isn't with you because he wants to stand by your side. He's with you out of fear. He doesn't love you; no one does and no one ever will. A Supplicant won't change that. Now, I think that you have wasted enough of both of our time." Stunned into silence Rivaille found himself able to do nothing but watch as the other left without another word.

_Damn it!_ It should have been his triumph, for once, but instead Kenny had transformed it into a defeat just like all the other times. He wanted to scream. To punch a wall. To rip and tear into something that was weaker, more vulnerable, than he was. And there was Eren. Leaving the young man once again bruised and bloody and whimpering on the floor made him sick but he did it anyway, and then shut himself away in his study alone. Solitude. Darkness. He sat behind his desk, head in his hands, silent and unmoving. He didn't know how much time had passed, if any had at all, before a hesitant knock came on the door. He made no move to respond.

"M-Maître?" the boy tried and failed to mask the tremor in his voice. "Please let me in." But Rivaille didn't answer. He expected, hoped, that the brunet would simply leave if he left him standing out there for long enough, but instead he took the lack of dismissal as permission and came inside. He raised his head to glare balefully at him, taking in the fresh bruises and half-dried blood and the steaming paper cup clutched in both of his trembling hands. "The stove…Eld said it is broken. It won't be fixed until at least tomorrow. So I went to the coffee shop nearby…" he trailed off, edging forwards to set the cup on the desk. Rivaille ignored him and put his head back down. He wanted to order the boy to go away, but the words stuck in his constricting throat and no sound would come out. He felt so hollow. So defeated. He hoped that the youth he'd so abused would simply get fed up with his silence, as he likely once would have, and leave him alone. Alone, like he'd been for the past circa 500 years. Instead Eren drew closer, walking around the side of the desk to stand beside him. "Maître, I don't understand. Why won't you speak to me? Have I done something wrong?" He'd done nothing wrong. Nothing at all. And he certainly didn't deserve all of the wounds-scarred over or fresh-that now marred his otherwise perfect body. Still, he didn't answer. So the brunet got down onto his knees and rested his head against the other's leg. A very shocked Rivaille sat up straight in his chair and stared down at the brunet who was now gazing sheepishly up at him. His green eyes were hazy and dull, their luster gone, the spark that once had burned brightly in their depths extinguished. They were dead eyes. Dead eyes attached to the shell of the once vibrant creature that he had destroyed. Eren was dead without having died, the zest of life brutally ripped out of him, all because he'd wanted to prove a selfish point; to service an empty vanity. And he'd failed at even that. In his quest to prove himself better than his Uncle, he'd lowered himself to far worse. And in that moment his frozen heart shattered for the meek shade now draped across his lap like a washed out feline. He slowly, hesitantly, lowered his hand to stroke the other's hair. "Je suis désolé(1), Eren." And for the first time in his very long life, he meant it. Receiving this simple kindness seemed to come as a pleasant surprise to the brunet, and as he continued his gentle pets the evanesced emeralds fell closed completely and he drifted into a contented sleep. Scooping him up into his arms with a sigh, Rivaille carefully carried the boy out of study and into his room and laid him in his bed. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't too late. Perhaps that spark of life could be rekindled. Perhaps he could still heal the wounds he'd rent so deep into the other's soul. Perhaps. Only time would tell.


	5. Teach Me How to Love

**Regular updates will come as a chapter a day on the weekends (saturday and sunday, and possibly friday). Updates will also come periodically throughout the week dependant on how much i have going on.**

It was early morning and Eren was still sleeping. Rivaille stood on the back porch, disregarding the wintry chill of the air as he stared out at the predawn which was just beginning to lighten the inky black grass. The tea had long since gone cold, but he still drank it; he didn't want all of the effort the boy had gone through on his account to waste. He heard her footsteps and felt her presence even before she joined him, but didn't turn around.

"Rivaille-."

"What does one do when they care for someone? Genuinely care? What is appropriate?" it all spilled out in a rush before he could fully formulate which questions to ask and exactly which one he wanted to ask first. "It's just…I'm not…I figured that you would know more about it than I ever would."

Petra stopped in her tracks and stared at him; even though he wasn't facing her he knew full well that the look on her face was one of total shock. "W-What brought this on? You've never shown much interest in others before."

"…I've done something terrible and I need to reverse the damage while there's still a chance that he'll recover."

"You're talking about Eren, aren't you?"

He grimaced. "It's just…that light, that _life_ that he used to have. I just can't bear to see it die because…I need it too. All these years I've walked through this damnable world as a pillar of ice, and now that I've found his fire I find myself craving it even more than his blood. He's a hunter; a human; a mortal. It's stupid and I know it…and I have no explanation."

"You don't need one."

"This isn't going to go over well; no matter what path I choose to take on the matter, I won't be able to hide this forever."

"We'll follow you anywhere. You know that."

"I do, but that gives me no right to put your heads on the chopping block right next to mine. Not to mention the fate that Eren would meet."

Silence reigned between them after that, and the sky turned from black to grey to gold before she spoke again. "I think the conflict that you're so afraid of it inevitable, Rivaille. It's been brewing since the day that Kenny took you in; he may call you his heir, but I think it's always been unspoken that the only way you'll succeed him is through war." A small noise of ascent was his only response. "If you really want to save Eren, the first thing you would have to do is restore his high will. And the best way to do that would probably be to let him know that it's ok for him to choose. Present him with choice, for example, and ask his permission before you feed. Showing him some old hunter things to remind him of who he was might also help."

"Sound advice." It also sounded like it would take forever. But, he supposed, it only made sense that curing the damage would take at least twice as long as causing it had.

"After that, if you choose to go further, you should start by showing him that you genuinely care about him."

And there-in was the road block. "How the shitting hell am I supposed to go about doing that? Fuck him?"

"A real relationship, Rivaille, is more than just sex! Praise him once in a while instead of yelling at him all the time. Be gentle. Figure out what he likes to eat and get that for him. Take him out of the house. Kiss him. And when it eventually does get around to sex, you can't just drag him into bed. Especially the first time, since he's probably a virgin." A women's intuition? Maybe. It could also be the fact that the Jӓger boy was near about as socially screwed over as he was. "You'll want to try some foreplay until he's comfortable."

"And what is that, exactly?"

She blinked at him, her face turning bright red. "This is where my explanation ends and you do research on your own."

He nodded, relenting. "You've given me a lot to think about."

"I know I have," she turned to go back into the house, but stopped again in the doorway. "Rivaille."

"Yes, Petra."

"I'm not going to lie; a relationship with Eren won't be easy, especially for you. For one thing, you may never be able to fully undo the damage. For another, he may not return your feelings. And even if he does you'll have to accept that one day-unless you turn him-you're going to be forced to stand by as he takes his last breath; lengthened life aside, he's still mortal. Committing yourself to this relationship means that you're committing yourself to be broken. You need to think about it at length, and decide if it is truly worth it, before you take that leap."

"I'm aware of that," only a half truth. "I will definitely think over all of this at length." Was it worth it? Could another living creature ever love something as shattered and despicable as him? Or was his Uncle right? Was it even worth trying? _No, I'm through with cowing to him. I've measured out my life with coffee spoons for too damn long already; it's high time that I disturbed the fucking universe._ Tossing his empty cup into the trash, he made his way up to the library to pass the remainder of yet another sleepless night with T.S. Elliot and by the time he'd finished _The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock _and moved on to _The Wasteland_ the sun had fully risen into the sky.

"Good morning, Maître." He raised his eyes from the book of modern poetry to find a sleep rumpled Eren standing in the doorway. "I thought I should…apologize for last night. I barged in when I shouldn't have, and I intruded. It was improper."

"Improper my ass," the minute it was out he audibly winced; so much for being nice. "What I mean to say," internally, he was already kicking himself "is that I appreciate what you did for me last night." Raising a hand, he motioned him over. "Come here, Eren. Please." His sudden change in demeanor seemed to surprise the brunet, but he obeyed regardless and shuffled over-still sleepy-to sit beside him. "It's supposed to be nice out today, as far as Winter is concerned. So I was wondering if you would like to go out with me to Stohess Park for a few hours?"

"Whatever you wish, Maître."

Damn it. "I'm asking what you want."

"I want whatever you tell me that I want."

Fuck. Patience was a virtue that he certainly didn't have. _Calm down._ He told himself as his fingers tightened to white knuckled around the spine of the book he was still holding. _Calm down, you're well aware of the fact that he wouldn't be back to his normal head strong self in one night. _Rivaille forced himself not to frown. "Go and get ready. It'll be good for you to get out." He watched the disheveled form leave the room, and a few minutes later a fully dressed and-somewhat-brushed Eren had returned still with the sleepy expression that the other couldn't help but find adorable plastered to his face. "Shall we?"

He nodded. "Ready." A thin, but long sleeved, cotton shirt and dark stained denim jeans which hugged his perfect figure. The raven was well aware of the fact that he had bought them for the brunet, but hot damn it was like the little fucker knew! "Is something the matter? You're staring."

_Fuck_. He broke the stare quickly. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm simply rather surprised that, unlike most teenaged boys, you're able to competently choose clothes that match."

"Thank you, Sir?" Rivaille rolled his eyes as he got up off the couch.

"Come along," he lead the brunet down stairs and to the garage. "You and I are going to be out at Stohess for a while, so it would be rather…thoughtless of us to expect our driver to sit around and wait. So I'll be driving." He motioned at the cars surrounding them. "Which car do you want to take, Eren?"

"Whatever-."

"Cut it with the 'whatever master says' bullshit and just make a decision for your god-damn self!"

The boy jumped slightly at his snap, but quickly returned his attention to the cars around them. He wandered around for a while before finally deciding on a cherry red Ferrari. "This one?"

"Get in." He reached for the handle of the back door only to have it swatted away. "What are you, two? Get in the passenger seat!" Once inside to his satisfaction, he slid the keys into the ignition. "Music: choose." A pile of CDs were promptly dumped into his lap, keeping Eren busy for five full minutes before he decided on _Black Clouds and Silver Linings _and they soon were rolling down the streets of Sina to "The Count of Tuscany". It didn't take Eren very long to start bouncing in his chair; raising an eyebrow, Rivaille looked over at him. Was he nervous of cars? Motion sick? Did he have a great deal of pent up energy he simply couldn't contain anymore? No, it quickly became clear that none of that was the case, as the boy wasn't so much bouncing in his seat, as he'd first thought, but attempting to dance while restrained by his seat as he quietly mouthed the lyrics. "You know _Dream Theater_, brat? I'm surprised; this band is older than you are."

"I like a lot of old music; _Dream Theater, Three Days Grace, Rolling Stones. _My friends hate when I play them though."

"Allergic to good music, are they?"

"That's what I said!" Those beautiful eyes weren't quite as clouded under the effects of the familiar music; he made a mental note to pick up every album he could find by the mentioned artists at the soonest possible occasion. "I used to go for walks in the park a lot back when I was little. My mother would always take us-my best friend, sister and I- whenever she had the time."

Ah, yes. Small talk; mentioning his family would eventually get him somewhere, right? It was worth a try. "What did your parents do for a living?" Easing up a bit on the throttle, he carefully maneuvered around a curve in the road.

"My father was a doctor; he owned his own clinic in Shiganshina and was really well known. My mother was a home maker; my sister and I meant a lot to her. She'd always put us first; do everything she could for us. She was a great woman." His bottom lip quivered slightly, jutting up into a small pout as he sank down a bit in his chair. The look of misery on the brunet's face did not make the raven happy, but it meant that he was at least starting to get through to him. The truth of that much was highlighted when he caught a quiet "parasite bastards" hissed under his breath.

"Shiganshina? That's a town in Maria City, isn't it?" smaller than Rose and less heavily trafficked than Sina the city of Maria was about four hours out from where he lived now. He himself had only been there once many years ago, but what he could remember of it was that it was quiet and quaint.

Eren nodded. "Yes. It was a very nice place to live. Nothing bad ever happened there…well, at least no usually." After that, the conversation petered out between them and the youth returned to his former blank state. One tiny step forwards and two gigantic leaps backwards. Rivaille sighed in defeat and pulled into the first parking space he saw.

"Ready, brat?" the hunter didn't answer, but opened the passenger side door and scrambled out. Rivaille joined him, locked the car and then set out down the nearby footpath with Eren shadowing him. "Relax, Jӓger. You look like someone shoved a hornet's nest up your ass." How stiff the boy was, was really starting to tick him off.

"S-Sorry Maître." He visibly struggled to relax.

"Rivaille!"

"W-What?"

Grey-blue eyes narrowed into slits. "We're in public, so refer to me as Rivaille."

"Oh, of course. I apologize, Rivaille." He kept a close watch on Eren as the boy gaze around at their surroundings with wide eyes, taking in the emerald grass and the blue-black pond and their fellow walkers.

"Stay close to me, brat! You're going to end up lost!" He didn't verbally respond, but fell into closer step beside him.

"May I ask a question."

The raven nodded. "Go ahead."

"Are they all Vampires?" he motioned around at the other park goers. "Everyone here, I mean."

"No, they're not." He replied. "Sina may have the highest Vampire to Human ratio out of the three nearest major cities, but not everyone living here is a child of the Night. It's about two out of every three people."

"Oh." More silence from his companion. Birds chirped. Wispy white clouds slithered sluggishly across the pale blue sky. The sweet smell of cooking batter wafted through the air as they passed a food cart, and the momentary falter in Eren's gate made it clear he noticed.

"Do you want one, brat?" for a long moment Eren just stared at him, then hesitantly nodded. "Let's get in the damn line before it gets any longer." Once again the boy followed like a well-trained puppy; they stood in line together for around five minutes before reaching the window.

"Good afternoon, what can I get for the two of you?" a way too happy teenaged blonde chirped. He nudged his companion sharply with the toe of his shoe.

"I expect that you can decide what you want to eat on your own, dipshit. Spit it out!"

"Oh, I…chocolate strawberry please." Another three minutes of standing beside the cart waiting later and they were again walking down the path with Eren nibbling on his desert; how intently focused he was on the crepe made him almost smile. Another few hours of walking around, enjoying the fresh air and exchanging meaningless snippets of conversation later darkness had fallen and they returned to the manor house. He accompanied Eren up to his room and sat on the side of his bed, watching as he changed into nightclothes before crawling into bed.

"You'll want to feed, Maître?"

Grey met green as he observed him for a moment before he spoke with carefully chosen words. "Do you want me to, Eren?"

"You do as you please; that's what I am here for, isn't it?"

Yet again, he had to struggle with the expected inevitability of having made absolutely no progress whatsoever. "You're supposed to say no, brat."

"Oh, ok." Eren amended. "No?" In that moment he would have loved to have thrown a tantrum and flipped a table for two, but instead settled for a face palm. "Maître, I'm confused. I don't understand what it is that you want from me." And now the brat was starting to panic. Just perfect.

"Don't worry over it, Eren. You did well." The boy calmed immediately. "May I?" he nodded mutely, tilting his head to one side to bare his neck. Long cold fingers gently wound in soft umber hair to guide his head back as his other arm wound around the other's thin waist to keep him in place. He was careful, this time, not to hurt the boy any more than was absolutely necessary when he drank. Stopping only once Eren was unconscious in his arms, he tucked him into bed before leaving to let him sleep it off. He spent the rest of the night assembling every song that he could get his hands on by the bands that he had mentioned into a Youtube playlist, which he blared from the time the boy woke to the time he fell asleep again, subjecting himself and the rest of his coven to what could at times be considered music torture, and all for nothing. He showed him a few of the trophies that he had taken off of defeated hunters through the years, and did his best to elicit some sort of reaction from him using what little he knew about his past. Every night he'd ask him the same thing, "May I?" and time and time again he'd receive the same answer until finally, almost two months later Eren finally looked him dead in the eye and said

"No."

Halleluiah! Any less reserved and he'd have been jumping in joy at finally having received confirmation that his efforts had not been wasted. Rivaille immediately rose to his feet and crossed to the bedroom door. "Good night, brat." He never returned to check on him that night, and for all he knew or cared he could have been awake in bed all night; he busied himself with some research and at last discovered exactly what he was looking for just before sunrise. He allowed the boy to sleep in, so by the time Eren finally saw fit to drag himself into the dining room it was almost noon. "Morning, Jӓger. Sleep well?"

"Sort of." Came the grumbled reply.

"Slept in too long and now have a headache?"

"…Maybe."

The raven snickered. "Well, that aside you'd better eat something. You and I are going on another road trip today; had you not slept so damn long we would have been able to stop, but as things are now even speeding in the Porsche we won't make it until almost nightfall." Fried potatoes, sausage links, bacon, scrambled eggs and an entire pot of coffee; Rivaille watched in mild amusement as the brunet shoveled it all down before going to change. He returned fully dressed a few minutes later. The engine of the Porsche purred loudly as the key was turned in the ignition; Eren was again allowed to choose the music, and by the time they finally reached their intended destination the sun was setting and they'd burned through all of _Train of Thought_ and _Systematic Chaos_. As the engine cut out at the bottom of the overgrown hill where his childhood home had once stood, Eren looked mortified. "Come on, brat." Rivaille was half-afraid that he'd have to drag the boy up the hill with the way he was acting, but thankfully by the time he'd exited the driver's side and made it around the car Eren was already clambering out of the passenger side door. He seemed reluctant to proceed, but never the less followed the raven up to the top of the hill where the burned out ruins-a charred foundation and a few blackened, wooden poles-still stood. Nature had, for the most part, reclaimed what once had been the young hunter's home and the ground beneath their feet wasn't soil, but ash. Rivaille stood by, watching in silence, as the boy wandered aimlessly for a while with a lost expression before he fell to his knees and began to weep over something held clutched in his hand. He left him alone for as long as he could, but soon his curiosity became too much. Walking over he found that the boy's green eyes had fully cleared, and were now awash with the tears that left silver track marks down his face and soaked the ground where his family had died. In silence, he held out his hand in hopes that the other would reveal whatever the item that had had such an effect to him; Eren hesitated for a moment before begrudgingly handing it over. Resting in his palm was a badly tarnished, fire blackened antique key. He was quick to leave the moment that the chance to do so was presented to him, and as such getting him down the hill and back into the car wasn't difficult at all. Eren kept his gaze on the house as they pulled away, and didn't speak a word for the duration of their trip back to Sina. Rivaille made no effort to stop him from retreating to his room with the key that had suddenly become so precious to him, knowing that tonight was the night to present him with his final choice. And so he retreated into the shadows to wait.

Eren, meanwhile, was left to toss and turn in bed until the sheets were twisted up around him like pythons and he didn't understand what was up and what was down. Sweating, mouth dry, he finally threw off the sheets and left his room in hopes of retrieving a glass of water. The sight that he was met with made him freeze half way down the stairs. The enormous double doors that had always been tightly shut and soundly locked had been left open as wide as they could go. His body began to shake, both from anticipation and from the chill air rushing in from outside; his eyes widened, flashing left and right in search of onlookers but finding nothing. Still, his heart was pounding. He descended the stairs two at a time, looked around once again end then proceeded more slowly forwards through the front room to stand in the open doorway. The night outside was utterly silent, cloudless and still, deep violet and studded with distantly twinkling stars. It was cold; a shudder passed through him as he filled his lungs with the scent of night air. Freedom. It was so close. All he had to do was walk out onto the porch and then down across the lawns and run to the nearest phone to call for help. Instead, with a soft sight, Eren stepped back into the dim manor and closed the doors behind him.

"All you had to do was walk away." The quiet voice had him all but jumping out of his skin; whirling around he found that Rivaille had been watching him the entire time, sitting unnoticed in a small chair in the corner beside the stairs. "You're free, Jӓger. So why? Why are you still here?"

"I…don't really know." He admitted after a moment, raising a hand to subconsciously rub the silvery scars that stood out against the tan skin of his neck. "It's stupid of me, really. And I know it is. I'm a Hunter, and you're one of the most dangerous Vampires alive. I was sent to kill you, but now I'm in your power. I could escape, and yet I don't want to. Well, I do but…the overwhelming and inescapable desire to study anything, especially something dangerous, is a more common trait of my friend Armin than myself…infatuated with a Vampire acting so out of kind as you are."

"So you find me intriguing, do you?" Eren nodded. "Glad to see that our opinions of each other are in accordance, then. I find myself, to use your word, 'infatuated' with you as well. So shall we see this further? What say you, brat?"

The brunet thought things over for a moment, then nodded. "I'm not quite ready to go back to black and white. Let's do this, whatever the hell this is."

Rivaille nodded as well, getting to his feet before proceeding to brush non-existent dust from his person. "The 'grey area' can wait until morning, brat. Go back to bed, you need your sleep."

Eren rolled his eyes, but did as he was told and as he ascended the stairs he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, this newest misadventure wouldn't be so bad after all.


	6. Gray Area

**Another semi-short chapter so i apologize for that but high school has been really busy this week. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and for your patience.**

_I can't believe I'm doing this._ Probably the hundredth time he'd thought this as he walked down the hall in stockinged feet towards the dining room. He'd spent most of the day left to his own devices-running into Petra or the others once or twice while they went about their daily business and seeing Rivaille only once when he peered into the study-and had multiple times considered reneging on his earlier decision and heading for the hills but something always held him back and here he was. As usual, his dinner company was already at the table; Rivaille didn't speak until Eren had seated himself.

"I apologize for not being around for most of the day; that bastard tries his hardest to bury me alive in paper work." This the raven all but grumbled into his cup.

"Don't worry about it; not only is there plenty in this enormous house for me to entertain myself with but I'm not quite sure I'm ready for your constant presence."

"Understandable, especially given your background." Eren couldn't help but think that his companion was being unnecessarily reasonable, but ignored the fact in favor of glaring daggers at his cup of wine. "I can't help but notice that the only time you ever drink at dinner is when you're desperate to avoid my questions."

"I'm 17."

"And German, so I fail to see your point."

"This is America, no Germany! The drinking age here is 21!"

To this much the raven rolled his eyes but backed down. "This question may seem a little bit out of left field, but I want to know as much about you as I can so I feel it's rather necessary to ask: exactly who have you left behind at the base?"

"Friends and family; my best friend Armin, my sister Mikasa, Horse-face and the others. And, about the Horse-face thing, you'd understand if you met him."

"No one else? No girlfriend?" A dry chuckle accompanied this. "With looks like yours, that's rather hard to believe."

Eren felt his face start to heat up, but whether it was from the veiled compliment or what he was now all but forced to reveal he didn't know. "Uh, no I…don't date. And I can't really be open. They look down on it."

"On dating?"

"Yes, actually. But only if you're not into what, and who, you should be." He sighed, settling further back against the chair. "I know of only one couple whose 'out', but they can get away with it."

"And why is that?"

"Because Krista is an Angel and Ymir doesn't give a flaming fuck about what anyone else thinks."

"Might I ask what you're type is, or is that considered prying?"

Pink turned to red. "If I'm spilling, so are you!"

"Fine, I'll go first if it'll make you feel better but there's not much to know." How unruffled he always managed to be was sometimes really scary. "I've never so much as thought of dating before in my life and, prior to meeting you, passed off love as a myth invented by a consumerist economy in order to sell more chocolate in February." When the brunet opened his mouth to speak the other silenced him with a raised hand. "Don't get hasty, brat. I'm not saying that I'm _in_ love with you. But I am saying that, if you're involved, then I'm open to exploring it further."

And it was beginning to become very clear just how grey the aforementioned 'grey area' was. "Well…I guess it's my turn then, isn't it?"

"I guess it is." Rivaille took another sip of wine, patiently awaiting the other's answer.

"Well, I've never dated either. I'm not even out to my sister." He swallowed thickly around the small lump that had arisen within his throat. "As for my type…I'm headstrong and have a high temper, so I like someone whose cool, calm, collected and can control me. I like dark hair…and light skin…I'm going to stop talking now." Catching on as well, the other snickered.

"So what you're saying is I'm you're type?" Nothing more was said and they finished dinner in silence.

A few weeks went by of little more than casual contact before he found himself in the library sitting on the couch beside Rivaille with a cup of tea in hand.

"I'm guessing that you're a tea person." The china tea clattered quietly against its saucer as the raven turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Aside from the fact that you drink it all the time, I looked up some of these brand names and realized that a single bag of this stuff costs a couple grand."

"If that surprises you I suggest you don't look up the coffee or the wine. The shock of that would blow your little head clear off your shoulders."

"Well one thing is for sure, you're getting what you pay for. This is really good."

"Nothing like that at the barracks, I assume."

"They don't have anything good at the barracks; we live of freeze-dried rations and water! The food is why is stay here, didn't you know?" he elbowed the other playfully, earning a snort.

"They call potential partners who are only looking for money gold diggers. What do they call them when they're only planning to eat you out of house and home?"

"Termites." He snickered. "Speaking of food, you don't look so good Rivaille."

"Such happens when one is denied excess to blood." He replied calmly. "I'll have to head out within the next few days to find another source."

Eren stopped and took that moment to really observe his companion, taking in the sight of the dark shadows scattered across his chiseled face and the slightly sunken state of his features and the yellowish almost waxen tint of his skin. "You know…as long as you're gentle it's ok. I mean, we're friends right? And thinking about…well, beating around the bush really…this is the oddest courtship ever." He fidgeted slightly, setting the cup down on the table and then beginning to play with his hands as he clasped them in his lap. The cushions shifted slightly beside him and cold breath fanned across his skin.

"Is that permission that you're trying to give me?" goose-bumps scattered across the tan canvas as the scent of the tea and peppermint overwhelmed him.

"Yes." His voice was constricted and very small, the words choked off but still audible. Raven tresses brushed against his cheek as pale lips parted and thin fangs slid into his throat. When he stayed still the pain was minimal but the sensation of having the blood drained out of him was definitely strange. Just as the room was starting to violently spin and pitch he pulled back, but his lips remained on his skin tracing upwards along the curve of his neck and then over the sculpted line of his jaw all the way up to his lips where a kiss-tender and chaste-was placed, smearing the pale pink flesh with the remnants of crimson still trickling down along his collarbone.

"Thank you, Eren." He looked slightly better, though undoubtedly he could have done with a few more pints even if that would have left him unconscious yet again. Wait a minute, had he just thanked him?

"Well, I thought that was what I'm here for. I'm just a Supplicant."

"No," a gentle hand on his chin to turn his face to him. "You're more than that. Far more. And if you can't put that together on your own after what just happened, you're dense."

"I-." the cavernous ringing of the doorbell interrupted him. "Uh, I think someone is at the door."

"No shit, Sherlock!" Getting up quickly, the raven made his way down the hall towards the stairs to answer the door with the brunet at his heels. Opening the door, he was met with the sight of two unfamiliar enforcers in full uniform who, clearly, Rivaille didn't like.

"Hitch, Marlo," the raven's lip curled upwards into a frightening sneer. "To what do I owe to displeasure of having Rod Reiss's lackies sicked on me?"

"Should I leave, Maître?" he was relieved to see that the boy's eyes had clouded over again; he was competent enough to know to slip back into the act without having to be told.

"No, stay." He glowered at them. "They won't be here long." Jade and amber eyes flashed between the two in a subtle gaze as he sized them up. Marlo; male, very tall and very thin with silvery eyes and black hair worn in a bowl-cut style. Hitch; female, catty in appearance and average height with large amber eyes and short slightly wavy brown hair. Both appeared around the age of 15. "What the shitting hell do you two midges wants?"

"We're here to make sure you're not screwing the pooch; or in this case," her eyes focused on Eren, "the Supplicant." Be it her haughty attitude, smug tone or the words she had used Eren immediately determined that he reciprocated Rivaille's feelings of deep-seated dislike towards the woman called Hitch.

"Hitch!" Marlo yelped, looking scalded by the raven's stony glare. "I truly apologize for the intrusion Young Lord Ackerman, but you must understand that this is simply a formality. We have been sent by Lord Reiss at the behest of Lord Ackerman to make sure that everything is as it should be." Silvery eyes shifted over to meet the brunet's distant stare. "This is him?"

A moment passed before Rivaille reluctantly nodded and moved aside to allow the pair a closer look, though his stance remained protective. "Eren Jӓger, formerly a member of the Hunter Sect. He was sent to assassinate me but now serves me instead and I delight in the irony. I admit that I may, at times, treat him more like a house pet than a servant but that shouldn't be a problem."

"That would depend on how precious of a pet he is!" In that moment he would have loved to dead-leg the bitch, but an almost infinitesimal shake of the other's head stopped him. "Mind giving us a tour of where you keep him at night?"

"Right this way." Shepherding Eren in front of him in case any one of the three were to get and then act on any ideas, he lead the two inspectors up the grand staircase to the second floor. "We were taking tea in the library when you interrupted us." Rivaille grumbled as they passed the still open doors. Finally, they reached the entrance to Eren's room in the middle of the hallway. "Not spotless like the rest of the manor but still very clean, with only a few wadded up clothes lying around and a sports magazine open on the floor.

"What is this?" she bent down and picked it up, flipping through the pages of adds for sports equipment and images of athletes.

"That is an issue of Sports Illustrated." Rivaille deadpanned. "It's an interest of his; when he behaves, I'm not averse to rewarding him." They watched as the two went through all of the belongings in the room leaving it a total mess but finding none of whatever evidence they were looking for. Eren couldn't help but smirk when his companion promptly forced them to then clean the room three times over before allowing them to escape. Once the pair was finally gone, the two were left alone with only the scent of bleach lingering in the air.

"Can I ask what that was about?"

Grey eyes observed him for a long while in silence before the raven finally sighed. "I'm going to be honest with you, any possibility of a relationship with you is flirting with disaster. As a matter of fact, what we've done already is enough to get us both killed."

"It is? It's that serious? We've barely done anything. I mean, sure, you've kissed me but…that seems a little bit ridiculous."

"Does it really? Think of the situation this way, would the Hunters kick you out of their organization if ever it was discovered that you were dating another man?"

"It's possible, but considering my graduating rank at 5th in my class I doubt I'd receive more than a mild shaming."

"And what if they were to discover that that man was a Vampire?"

"…Imprisonment. Possible execution as a traitor to mankind." His eyebrows furrowed together. "Is it because I'm a Hunter that you'd get into trouble?"

"No, it's because you're a Human. A member of a 'lesser race'." He shook his head. "I don't know how deep your knowledge of the politics of my people goes, but the basic reality is that the Military Police is both the leading and the only party in our government and it consists solely of Pure Bloods; born Vampires. We are the 'true Vampires', the master race. Turned ones are cast out of society and forced to live in the Underground, or else made as indentured servants or slaves. Half breeds are imprisoned or destroyed. Humans reduced to puppets with no will of their own, or else slaughtered like cattle to feed the masses. Kenny, my Uncle, is both a tyrant and a monarch. This is the way that it always has been since he came to power, and it is the way it always will be until he was replaced."

"You sound like you don't agree. They always described you as this sadistic blood thirsty monster; what I saw in the beginning supports that. But what I've seen recently does not."

"I put up walls and do as I must; it is selfish and cowardly but it is what it takes to survive." Rivaille replied quietly. "But as to the matter of agreeing with him, I don't."

"Are you going to do anything about it? Maybe mobilize the Turned Ones and Half-bloods? I could probably manage to sway the Hunters, all be it unwittingly."

"I'm aware, well aware, of the fact that my Uncle will not step down willingly. But at the moment, a do not believe that a revolution is the best recourse at the moment." He replied carefully. "All non-violent measures ought to be undertaken first. I'll lobby the nobles; if enough support for me is raised amongst the council he'll be forced to step down. He won't go quietly but less destruction will be caused by a political war than a physical one."

Eren nodded, but looked somewhat disappointed. "That would put you under the spotlight. You'd have to be the 'perfect M.P. Pureblood' and that would mean that I have to act the good little brainwashed supplicant again."

"In public, yes. Would that be in issue for you Eren?"

"Is this only in public?"

"We're equals, brat. Friends, as you said, at the very least and possibly more in time regardless of risk. I will treat you as I do now in private, and will stress the act only as much as is strictly necessary. You have my word."

"Then no, there's no issue." He emerald orbs became somewhat unsure.

"What's wrong now, brat?"

"I…was wondering," Eren sighed. "Could I ask for a favor?"

Months. _Months!_ She didn't even know how many anymore. Days filled with worry. Nights devoid with sleep. Was he alive? Was he dead? Had he gotten anywhere in his mission? Was he laying somewhere bleeding out on the dirty ground that very moment? _Eren._ The others watched her like hawks, penning her in inside the barracks and offering her their empty assurances that everything was going to be fine and yet all along she knew in her heart that something was wrong. She paced, back and forth and back and forth all with her hands behind her back clenched into fists with her heart thudding against her ribs. But when he cellphone suddenly rang everything stopped. Slowly, she reached into her back pocket and pulled it out; **Private Number** was displayed across the screen. Confusion blossoming in the back of her mind, she raised it to her ear and answered.

"Hello?"

"Mikasa?" at the sound of his voice she nearly collapsed. "Are you there?"

"Eren!" He was alive! "Are you alright? What's going on? Where are you?"

"Entrenched under cover; I've survived longer than anyone else ever sent after Rivaille but that by no means makes this a simple operation for me. I'm going to be gone a while longer. He thinks that I'm a Supplicant but I don't know how much longer that will last."

"Why? Why didn't you tell me where you were going? Why didn't you talk to me even once before you left?" she demanded, blinking furiously when she felt her eyes begin to burn. "What would I have done if something happened to you?"

"I know, and I'm sorry Mikasa. But I knew that you would have tried to stop me." He sounded apologetic, but without seeing his face she couldn't really be sure. "Listen, I don't have much time. I'm supposed to be placing some orders and I don't know how long I have until…_shit!_ A garbled, crackling sound as Eren fumbled to catch the phone that he had dropped.

"Eren? Eren!"

"Two dozen." What the hell? "Yes, that's right. The same as always. Yes please."

"Eren, are you alright?" but as he continued his refusal to make a sentient response she felt her blood go cold.

"And how long will that be?" And it was in that moment that the truth that he was no longer alone in the room dawned on her. "An hour? Yes, that will do perfectly. I'll send the driver by to pick them up; thank you."

"_I love you, brother!"_ She could only hope he'd heard her before he'd hung up. Returning the glossy black phone to its cradle hanging on the wall, Eren turned back to his companion with a sigh.

"You didn't have to act as if you'd been caught out; she's your family. Wouldn't you have liked to speak to her more?"

But the brunet only shook his head. "Actually, I did have to do that. Otherwise, I'd have been stuck on the line for hours and she would have wheedled and pried until I accidently let something slip. Then she'd come charging after me like a bull in a china shop and we'd have a huge problem on our hands."

"But are you sure that deception is the best recourse? Surely that ploy will only hold the dragon off for so long."

"No matter what we try to do it will only temporarily keep them from putting two and two partially together and coming after me." Eren informed him resignedly. "Consequences to come aside, for the moment at least this is for the best.


	7. Seek the Hand

It was very early in the morning when Rivaille woke; he stepped into the shower and cleaned himself quickly, changed into full formal wear of suit and tie etc and then, finished with his morning ritual of inspecting himself and his surroundings critically for even so much as a speck of dust, left his bedroom and made his way down the hallway to Eren's room. He found the boy curled up on the bed, head tucked beneath one arm and the other hand stretched out in front of him. Cupped loosely in his lax hand was the iron key that he had taken from the ruins. It wasn't clear exactly why it was important to him but it obviously was, as this wasn't the first time he'd seen him carrying it like some lucky charm.

_The brat looks about ready to drop that thing; if it falls under the bed he won't think to look and will never find it._ Gently, careful so as not to wake him, Rivialle removed the key from Eren's palm and slipped it into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. He'd pick something up while he was out that would make it easier for the brat to hold on to the key but for the moment he had an appointment to keep. Leaving the room after allowing himself one more long glance at the other's sleeping form, he made his way down the stairs and out of the house to where the car was idling in the driveway.

"We'll be cutting it close, Sir."

"I'm well aware, Schultz." He replied simply. "Lord Church finds it most impressive when his expected company arrives not too early, not too late, but right exactly on time. At times I find him banal at best, but he and I have always gotten along well and I need as many political heavy hitters before my Uncle catches on and starts the mudslinging; anyone from Mitras will have an enormous impact, but I'd like to start with assured shots."

"Very well, Sir. I'll get you there on time." The sleek black car pulled smoothly away from the house and glided onto the road. "Will you want to stop by Lady Magnolia's as well? Ehrmich District isn't very far from Mitras."

"Isabel will want to come by the house herself; I've arranged for her to visit tomorrow evening." Reclined in the back, Rivaille propped his head up on his hand and sighed. "We all know how she can get; I'll have to warn Eren of her over-excitable tendencies ahead of time." Speaking of which. "We need to stop by a jewelers on the way back; I need to pick up a chain for the brat's key. He'll end up losing it otherwise."

"Of course." The rest of the ten minute ride passed in silence, and soon enough Rivaille found himself walking up to the front door of the Mitras manor. Mitras, the inner most community of Sina City where many of the most powerful members of the Military Police lived. An all Vampire community. He himself had always preferred Stohess. The door was yanked open by a young man with pale brown hair and smoky eyes before he could knock.

"Ah, Rivaille! Right on time." Farlan Church was a Vampire Lord with a great deal of influence in many important circles and, like most Pure Bloods, was far older than his appearance would suggest. For the most part calm and very focused he was more tolerable to the raven than most despite his little time proclivity, and was one of the few people outside of his coven who he'd even go so far as to claim he liked. "It's always an honor to have you; anything in particular that I can do for you today, Young Lord Ackerman?"

"Yes, there is. But I think it's best that we speak of that inside. One can never quite be sure who else is listening these days, and frankly I'd rather get further than you and Magnolia before it reaches my Uncle's ear and I run face first into a brick wall comprised of bribes and blackmail."

"Right, come with me." He was lead into the mansion and down a hallway to the nearby pool room. "Last I remember you never were a stranger to a game or two."

"It's been a while," he took up the stick and inspected it. "But I'll play you, sure. Stripes or solid?"

"The guest always breaks first; it's a courtesy. So I'll take stripes." The pale blue chalk emitted a series of small squeaks as it was rutted against the felted tip. "It's been too long since I've seen you, Rivaille. I haven't been able to make it down to the Thorn in recent years, and I wasn't sure you'd much appreciate a house call."

"Where it is true that I never have been…the most inviting host that's mainly at fault of the fact that the only ones who come to visit me these days are people that I don't like." He grumbled, sizing up the end of the stick to the cue sitting on the green felt table top.

"That and the fact that you're not good with people." The other snickered. Isabel and Farlan-and Eren-were the only ones he knew of who were truly and entirely unafraid of him. It always was a weird, and yet at the same time refreshing, experience.

"Yes, there is that." The cream colored cue ball shot across the table and both scattered in all directions. "People, more over their political support, just so happens to be why I'm here."

"Really?" the dark blue and dark green solid balls both toppled into one of the table's four pockets with a loud clack. "Why would you be looking for that?"

"Simple; I'm sick to death of my Uncle and think it's high time for a shift in power. Make no mistake, the Military Police will remain an Ackerman dynasty, but it's time I had my turn at the wheel."

"So you're talking about a coup?" a stripped ball vanished into another pocket.

"No, just a political yanking of the carpet from beneath him. I'd prefer to avoid violent conflict as much as possible; we pure of blood Vampires are few in number already and dwindling fast. I'd rather not risk extinction over a power struggle if I do not have to."

"And if you do have to?"

The cue ball missed its mark this time and smashed into the edge of the table with a thump. "Then yes, I'll likely find myself left with no other recourse."

"And so you're looking for supporters?"

"Your perceptive abilities is one of the reasons why I like you, Church." Another miss, this time knocking a stripped ball into the pocket instead. "Fuck!"

"You weren't kidding when you said that you were rusty," said as the cue ball went in without hitting anything. "Then again, so am I." And with that Farlan went to try and fish it out so that they could continue to play.

"Yes, I am here looking for support on my end of the agenda. I need to weight it as quickly as I can before he catches on."

"And I take it that you've already contacted Isabel?"

He nodded. "She's stopping by in person tomorrow evening; what can I say but that I like to secure as many sure-wins as possible before I go taking risks."

"So you're asking for help even while fully confident that you don't need to?"

"I admit to having some confidence that your assistance would be granted with little convincing on my part. At least so far as the politicking is concerned." The last of the solid balls vanished from the table top and he turned his gaze on the jet black eight ball.

"Well, I can't say that you were wrong about that much." The other admitted, watching as the final ball disappeared into the furthest pocket. "And you've beaten me again."

"Indeed I have, though something tells me you may just have let me win." The raven grumbled, straightening up from his position reclined against the table and instead leaning his weight against the cue in his hand. "All that I'm asking is your help in pressuring him to finally step down. I wouldn't ask that you put it all on the line by joining in any sort of uprising that may take place."

"Well that just so happens to be the problem with a Coup de ta; there isn't any middle ground, you're either a loyalist or a rebel."

"You'll get sucked in anyway so why the hell not, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes, exactly. I'm glad that you and I understand each other so well."

Rivaille shook his head with a small sigh. "And just when I was convinced that, of the three of us, Isabel was the crazy one."

"That, my friend, is a whole different type of crazy." Turning his back on him, the honey-brunet returned his cue to the rack hanging on the nearby wall. "You've got me in your corner no matter what happens; Isabel and I are the equivalent of your own Reiss. Now, I think you've left your driver out in the cold for long enough."

"Yes, I think you're right about that much. I'll see you at the Devil's Thorn at the turn of the month, then?"

He nodded. "I'll be there just as sure as you will."

"Until then, I suppose." Exiting the manor back the way he'd come, Rivialle made his way back to where the car stood waiting. "Let's get around to that last stop; he's probably awake by now and if I know anything about the brat he's in a panic."

"The closest jeweler is about five minutes away; we should be back at the manor in 20 minutes, provided that we avoid running in to any sort of traffic."

"That will do fine." He watched the rolling lawns and enormous manor houses pass by outside the window, narrowing his eyes at the dreary sky. Yet again the forecast called for rain. Such was the nature of winter in Sina, but already he was sick of it. The jewelers where they stopped was a fairly generic place with a name that was something along the lines of _Colossal Diamond_ and he had spent no less than three minutes inside before deciding on a thin solid silver chain. Back at the house he was met with a sight that, though somewhat expected, was still a surprise. Clothes strewn everywhere, drawers pulled out and dumped on the floor, beddings ripped off the bed, mattress overturned and there, in the midst of it all was Eren or, moreover, his lower half sticking out from underneath the bed. "Brat, what the hell are you doing?"

A few moments passed before the boy succeeded in extracting himself from underneath the bed; there were dust bunnies colonizing his hair and his eyes were watering from all of the dust that had collected underneath the bed but what was most pronounced was the look of panic plastered to his handsome features. "It's gone!" he wailed, sounding crushed.

"You mean your precious little burnt up key?" the boy nodded. "No, it's not gone. I took it."

"W-What!" Panic turned to what almost looked like betrayal. "Why!?"

"Because," Rivaille removed the key and the chain it now hung on from his pocket and showed it to the other, "I knew that it would only be a matter of time before you really did lose it, what with you carrying it around in your pocket all the damn time and sleeping with it like it's a fucking security blanket. So while I was out I bought a chain for it, because it's a lot harder to lose something when you're wearing it around your neck!"

"You…?" Eren actually looked dumbfounded as he reached out and the other placed the trinket in his hand. "Thank you."

"Uh-huh. See if it fits and then clean this mess up! I'll go and make us both some tea." With that he left the room and headed back down to the kitchen. Teapot, water, tea leaves, stick it all on the stove and leave it there until it starts to bitch at you. He was just pouring two cups of the tea-chai instead of black this time-when Eren reappeared at his side. "That was fast; if I go in there will it be clean, or will your bed be balancing on top of a mountain of crap?"

"Teenaged clean, but not certified OCD clean freak clean." Came the somewhat snarky reply, leading the shorter male to groan and roll his eyes as he handed over a china tea cup.

"You look like a basset hound Jӓger," Rivaille informed him as they made their way into the dining room and sat down.

"I might have a tiny dust allergy." He admitted, swiping a hand across his watering eyes. "Do you have any allergies?"

"Yes, I'm deathly allergic to snot nosed brats!" Again with that habit of speaking into his cup; Eren lightly stepped on his foot underneath the table. Rivaille narrowed his eyes in a silent warning that the other didn't heed, then went on to examining his companion's new accessory; the silver chain stood out against the tan skin like a line of frost and was just long enough to leave the blackened metal key resting at the hollow of his throat. "Might I ask?"

The blue green irises shifted upwards to look at him. "Might you ask what?"

"Why that key matters so much to you. Was it the house key you were given to carry around as a child or something? It seems a bit too big for a key chain."

"No, it wasn't the house key," Eren replied, reaching up almost unconsciously to begin fiddling with it. "I'm sure you probably noticed that my house-the ruins of it-didn't have a basement."

That had struck him as a little bit odd. "I did notice that, yes. Why?"

"We had a cellar, around the side of the house. My father used it as a sort of…at home office space, I suppose. He'd spend hours in there, and would always_, always, _lock it up tight behind him. And he'd carry the key around on his person to make sure my sister and I never got any ideas while he was away. I never knew what he did down there; he always used to say that, when I was old enough to understand, he would tell me. But obviously he never got the chance."

"And that was the key?" the answer was received as a mute nod, the other's eyes falling away from his as his expression transformed to one of sorrow. But as his hand slid across the table top, presumably to disappear, Rivaille caught it with his own in a gentle hold.

"Eren," something in his tone made the boy look up at him again in surprise. "I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again. For as long as I live I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to protect and please you. All that I ask in return is that you smile."

At this he went from fighting tears to turning red. "You know, for someone who condemns themselves as socially awkward you can be really damn smooth."

"Only with the people I care to tolerate, and those are very few." He replied quietly. "Now, I need to warn you about just what it is that you should expect from Isabel Magnolia."

When the knock finally came on the door at just after sundown, Eren straightened his collar a final time and plastered on a blinding smile before going to answer it. He'd been warned that their expected company was two things-eccentric and loud-but a face full of pink feather boa was the last thing that he had excepted to receive upon opening the door and as such his Hunter reflexes were not enough to save him; he ended up sprawled on his back with a pair of white elbow glove-clad arms locked around his neck.

"Oh, Rivaille! I haven't seen you in almost a century; you've gotten taller and-oh, you're not Rivaille."

"A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Lady Magnolia." He grimaced slightly in pain as she scrambled off and allowed him to sit up. "May I take your coat?"

"Oh, the perfect gentleman; he's certainly trained you well! Yes, please." She practically threw the coat at him in her haste, bouncing up and down on her heels in anticipation as he went to go and hang it. "I'm sorry about all of that, it's just that Rivi usually answers the door."

"Don't worry about it, it isn't a problem." Closing the door to the closet, he gestured for her to follow him. "Rivaille is waiting for you in the dining room, follow me." She fell into step behind him as he lead her through the doors of the dining room.

"_Rivi!_" Clearly the raven was far more prepared for being tackled than the brunet had been, and managed to remain standing when she jumped him.

"Isabel. It's been a while." He greeted calmly. "I take it, from the racket, that you've met Eren?"

"Oh, so that's his name?" her lamp like green eyes returned to him, her red hair-pulled back into pigtails-blazing like fire in the room's white light. "I had heard some things about you suddenly coming upon an interest in reviving an old practice, but I didn't think your new pet would be so _cute!_"

"What's most important is that he is loyal and obedient." He said as the other re-emerged from the kitchen with the platter, which he set on the table before going to stand behind his chair. "I'm sure that you're at least somewhat aware of why I've called you here, due to your communication with Farlan?"

"Of course I'm aware, and obviously I'm going to help!"

Rivaille sighed. "Don't you think that you ought to-."

"If you're about to say put more thought into it, I'll let you know I have!" She interrupted. "I may well be just as high strung as you remember me, but I don't _always_ go rushing into things! Besides, you're going to need all of the help that you can get and both Farlan and I are capable of reaching pretty far. The biggest problem will be-."

"Reiss, I know." He said. "I'm not even going to be able to touch the Quinta District because of him, and Trost and Karanese-in Rose City-will likely be a 50-50 gamble."

"Well, we'd better get ahead of it as soon as possible then, right Rivi?" Dinner, then desert, then coffee and by the time Isabel left a working plan was in place in which the three would join forces to blanket the necessary channels in order to gain support. Once she was finally gone, the first thing that Eren did was turn to the other with eyebrows raised.

"Rivi?"

"Shut up." He warned, but the sniggering brunet slid into the seat beside him and continued his stare.

"It's nothing, Jӓger!"

"Oh, I think it's a whole lot more than nothing. I've a right to know if you're using me to cheat on someone, Rivaille; I don't like the prospect of being the younger not-woman."

Rivaille rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smirk. "Around 200 years ago, my Uncle and her parents tried to arrange a marriage between the two of us. So we met, courted, came to the mutual decision that we weren't meant to be, went our separate ways, remained friends and called it that. Unfortunately for me, her nickname stuck."

"Well, you have to admit that Rivaille is a little bit of a mouthful. It's like…eight letters." Eren said. "Now I feel left out in the cold; I have to come up with a pet name of my own."

"No you don't."

"Obviously I do; it's a lover thing. And I'm a teenager, so if you really want a relationship for me then you're signing on for all of the stupid shit which comes all wrapped up in the package with a pretty bow."

"Does this mean I have to come up with some shit-stupid name for you too?" he definitely didn't like the thought of that.

"You already do; you call me brat."

"That is true." He poured himself another cup of coffee.

"Well, Rivi is already taken and sounds a little too…feminine. Like nickname given by a female not…you know." Eren fell silent for a while, eyes narrowed and deep in thought. "How about Levi?"

"When you have to rearrange the letters, you're trying too hard."

To this much the brunet simply shrugged. "Well, it's that or Shorty."

"Levi is fine!" The coffee spoon clattered against the cup as he dropped it in favor of glaring at the boy. "And just so that I'm forewarned, what the hell else comes in this package that you mentioned?"

"So glad that you asked," Eren said happily, his whole face lighting up. "Sich kuscheln is the big thing."

"And what the shitting hell is that, Deutschland?"

"Cuddle, obviously. The best way to do it is on a couch with a blanket hot chocolate and a movie."

"How old are you, two?"

"If I say yes, will you do it?" on any other occasion all he would have received was a harsh snap, but how hopeful he looked in that moment made any sharp retort that might have come impossible.

He sighed. "Make a mental list of all the shit you want. There's a Red Box at the grocery store."


	8. Conflict at the Devil's Thorn

**I do not speak any French what so ever and have never taken a class in the language so if any of my translations are wrong it's because I've been using google translate.**

**I will be finishing OBK soon; I'm writing the new chapters and testing out a few possible ways the ending could go so it will still be a little bit. There will be 5 more chapters and an epilogue.**

The drive to the nearby grocer was short and uneventful aside from the fact that it decided to start to snow. Leaving the car parked in the lot the pair went inside; the raven left the brunet standing in the front of the machine in order to go and collect the items on his list, all the while dreading exactly which cheesy movie he'd pick out. By the time he'd gone through the line Eren had the disc in hand and was smiling stupidly at him.

"Which one did you pick, brat?"

His smile only got bigger. "Not telling; it's a surprise."

"Oh, really? How did you know that I hate surprises?" he grumbled, mood becoming even more sour as the falling snow again set to roosting in his black hair. It was cold as shit outside but Eren, in his coat and scarf, looked un-phased.

"You need to easy up a little bit, Levi. At least around me. Being so emotionally stiff all the time can't be healthy for you." His smile faltered slightly. "You know that you can trust me, don't you?"

"It isn't a matter of me trusting you or not trusting you brat, long time learned habits take a long time to be unlearned; ice doesn't melt in one damn day."

"It's been longer than a day, but I see your point." Eren flopped into the passenger seat with a sigh. "It's nice to be back in a place that has heat, even if that walk was only about two minutes."

Taking the cue, the raven cranked the heat all the way up to desert blast as they drove out of the lot. "That's funny, because you seem to tolerate winter better than most."

"Winter means snow and Christmas, which comes with all of the good cheer." His nose curled slightly. "But I could really do without the cold."

"Well, if you could move anywhere in the world where would it be?"

"Something with a freezing ass-blast of a winter."

"The desert?"

"That's _too_ hot!" he mewled. "What's France like?"

"Europe has winter too, brat."

"But is it as cold?"

"In the South-western part, along the Mediterranean Sea, it tends to be rather fair in winter. There's still snow, mind you but-as long as you avoid the Alps-it isn't arctic-circle like this hellhole; hot summer, cold winter, fuck New England's bi-polar ass!" With that he was forced to look on as the other dissolved into a fit of unreasonable giggles which left him in stitches until they reached the house. "Now will you tell me which movie you picked out?"

"No."

"What's it rated?"

"PG-13, grandpa!" Made with a decisive roll of his eyes. At least that ruled out the brat tricking him into watching some shitty slasher film.

"I assume that you know how to work a TV?" he nodded. "Good, go and set it all up while I make your hot chocolate."

"You don't want any?" he sounded astonished as he hoped out of the car.

"No way; that shit is way too fucking sweet! I'll stick with coffee." They parted ways once back through the door, Rivaille to the kitchen and Eren to the nearby den to set up the film that he had chosen. Five minutes and a handful of carefully selected cusswords later he'd at last deciphered the exceedingly complicated system and gotten the film menu to come up on the screen. Just at that moment the raven returned with two mugs and a bag of mini-marshmellows under one arm.

"_P.S. I Love You_?" he questioned, reading off the name. "What did you do, choose the cheesiest one they had?"

"No, this one looked good!" Eren defended as he sat down beside him; the brunet immediately began pouring the marshmellows into his cup until it overflowed.

"You want some cocoa with that, brat?" Eren stuck his tongue out at him in answer and proceeded to test the temperature of his drink. Rolling his eyes, Rivaille stole the remote in order to start the movie. Needless to say it wasn't a…conventional romance film: something about an Irish singer who died but had somehow seen it coming and arranged to send his widow notes to help her move on. Eren finished his drink about halfway through and proceeded to eat his way through the remainder of the bag of sweets. "You're going to give yourself a coronary!" He grumbled quietly when he finally decided he wanted to get around to the 'cuddling' and stretched out beside him.

"Well, at least I'll die happy." His companion frowned once again before beginning to run his fingers through the short brown hair which was so irresistibly soft. He smelled like chocolate and Jet-puff marshmellow, and buried his face in Rivaille's shirt. "For all of the grouching that you did, you're really good at this."

"Am I?" he questioned, running a silken strand between his forefinger and thumb before proceeding to stroke the back of his hand against his cheek.

"Yes, and I would know."

"Would you?" the movie was now all but forgotten. "And why would that be?"

"When I was little, we'd have sleepovers a lot at my house and all three of us would always fight over who would sleep in the bed-not because we wanted it ourselves but because we thought the others deserved it more than we did-and so we'd always end up compromising by sleeping together on the floor."

"Like puppies?" he shook his head to relieve himself of the mental image of a big brown fluff ball with Caribbean eyes and a green ribbon.

"Yeah, a lot like that I guess." His words were slightly slurred from how drowsy he'd become. The movie had ended, and now the blank screen transfused the room with a soft sapphire light. "The stroking feels nice."

"If I scratch behind your ears will you start thumping your leg or something?" his playful slight was answered only by soft snoring from beside him; Eren had fallen asleep with his head resting on his chest. His expression in sleep was sweet and peaceful, again highlighting just how young her was and just how much danger the pair of them were in. "Je t'aime mon chéri." For him, he'd sacrifice anything.

He woke up the next morning alone on the couch with the blanket from the night before carefully draped around his shoulders and a cup of tea-still warm-resting on the table beside a note. Sitting up with a yawn, Eren picked up the note and read it.

_Bien-aimé_

_I'll be gone when you wake up; I must make it to another appointment and won't be back until later this evening. Tonight is the meeting at the Devil's Thorn at which notice of my challenge to his reign will_

_be formally served to my Uncle; you will be expected to accompany me. Stay close while we are there, and behave. Something will be ready for you when both of us get back._

Smiling to himself, he picked up the tea and settled deeper into the couch cushions to drink it. From the temperature of the drink left behind and the fact that the ink on the page had yet to dry he doubted that the other had been gone for very long. _Well, it looks like today is my day off._ What to do; he was kind of sick of sitting around but there wasn't really all that much going on outside when it was freezing and it weren't as if he could call up one of his friends to hang out. And even if he'd had the nerve to ask, which he didn't, he doubted that any of the others would want anything to do with keeping him company especially considering that they were probably busy themselves. The library upstairs was full of books, but most of those were written in French and Latin or else so old that he was somewhat afraid even looking at them the wrong way would result in them crumbling to dust and reading never had been anything that kept him occupied for very long. Hunting down a pad of paper and a pen, he returned to his seat on the couch and proceeded to doodle mindlessly for a while before starting a few schoolyard word games which left him feeling both girly and a little bit stupid before ultimately resigning himself to playing online poker on his smart phone.

"If you're about to mulligan with a royal fucking flush there's no hope left for your future, brat." Eren very nearly dropped the phone in surprise on finding the raven standing at his shoulder. "Do you even know how to play poker?"

"No, but the app came with my phone and I'm burnt out on Angry Birds," he admitted, hitting the power button. "How long have you been standing there?"

"About five minutes, "came the quick reply as he picked up the pad of paper Eren had left lying out on the table. "Have you moved at all since you woke up?"

"Once; I had to grab that." He watched, slightly nervous, as he flipped through the pages and became more and more amused. "Is there any particular reason for this?" Written down the page were two neat lines of different combinations of their names; Rivaille Jӓger and Eren Ackerman.

"Yeah; I figured that, at some point in the possibly distant but possibly not so distant future we're going to have to figure out which one of these we like better, even if it ends up being just a common law marriage. Which one do you prefer?"

"Eren Ackerman."

"Really, why?"

"Is it not customary for the woman to take the last name of the man?"

"Wha-_OI!"_

"I'm kidding brat, don't get all tied in a knot. Go and take a shower, we need to leave in 20 minutes." Kidding aside Eren sent a playful swat, which missed by a mile, the other's way as he got up and headed for the bathroom. A quick shower later and he was struggling to determine exactly what it was that he should wear. "You finished putting on your makeup yet?"

He ignored the jibe and turned to face the other with a somewhat imploring look on his face. "I don't know what to wear. This is a formal event, right? So do I wear a tux, or-?"

"If I ever catch you wearing a cumberbun, you are never leaving this house again," he replied, sidestepping the other to rummage around in the drawers before pulling out another button-down shirt and pants ensemble. "You don't need to worry over which tie to wear and all of that other knit picky crap. You'll be fine in this, just put a suit jacket on over it." A green shirt which showcased his eyes, khaki-colored dress pants and a matching jacket. "Hurry, we're running close to late."

Before being sent on this assignment Eren hadn't had any idea of just how proficient an actor he could be if he really tried but now it came to him easily, perhaps because at one point it hadn't been an act at all. Because he knew the ins and outs of how a true Supplicant would work and act. Quiet, subdued and in the shadows until called upon if present at all. It was as seamless as donning a stage mask, an instantaneous change as he followed the other out of the car and into the club. Lavish as ever, the walls hung with the tapestries and banners and the carpets clean and plush. But unlike the last time he had visited the club there was a noticeable divide within those present; two groups-fairly equal, at least at first glance-milling about amongst themselves. A slew of whispers scattered through the room at their passing, but his ears were not keen enough to pick up the words being said.

"There you are; you're almost three quarters to late!" A brown haired noble hissed urgently.

"But I'm not late, now am I?" Rivaille replied in an equally quiet voice. "Is he here?"

"Yes, they've been here since before the meeting started. It would appear that while your Uncle was unaware, Lord Reiss caught on and did the recruiting for him."

"Of course; Reiss always does have his ear to the ground for any rumbles in opposition of my Uncle. You remember the Smith Rebellions, I'm sure?"

"Back when the Turned Ones formed their own party-the Legion-and rose up before being chased into the underground back in the 1300s?" he shuddered. "Let's hope that doesn't happen; most here aren't loyal enough to follow you into battle."

"I'm aware of that." He replied stoically. "I told you before, Farlan, that the last thing I wanted was a drawn out bloody war between two factions. I meant it."

"I know," Farlan told him, "but things are hostile already. We may ultimately have no choice."

"Up until then, diplomacy." The other vampire remained at his side as he continued into the crowd, speaking quietly with others, fending off Isabel who-though still somewhat wild-for the most part behaved, and shaking hands. Finally, coming upon a tall thin balding man he stopped in surprise. "Dot?!"

"Rivaille," the tell man responded. "It has been quite a while since I've seen you. You didn't speak to me about the matter of your desired shift of power."

"No, I didn't." Cordial but strained. "In order to see to it that I avoided a brick wall for as long as possible, I did all in my power to avoid speaking with those who I knew to be in my Uncle's pocket Pixis."

"It is admittedly true that Kenny and I go back far indeed," Pixis offered a smile that was meant to congenial but Eren could tell by the slight stiffening in the other's shoulder's that Rivaille got the same crawling feeling he did. "But I feel that it is time that the power changed hands; you have a lot to offer to the Military Police that your Uncle does not and I figured that you and I could…help each other. I can bring a great deal of pressure to bear, both against many of your Uncle's supporters and against Kenny himself. Even Reiss I can blackmail. All the more so if efforts towards your cause are ultimately…rewarded."

The small smile on his face remained, but his eyes narrowed. "I'm not about to make anything that could be quoted, but I'll see what I can do."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, turning to walk deeper into the crowd away from them. "Prove to me that I've made the right choice, Rivialle."

With that statement, the raven was left to make his way to the front of the crowd to meet with his Uncle. Kenny looked about as happy as he ever did, his usual sneer adorned his face though this time it was more pronounced than usual. The old fashioned colt revolver was holstered at his side. Standing to his right was another man; tall, dark haired and to Eren unfamiliar.

"So you bring your precious Human pet even here, Rivaille?" he drawled.

"Always a pleasure, Reiss." Refusing to rise to the other's insult, he turned to Kenny instead. "Uncle. I had come to tell you that I'm issuing a formal challenge to your rule but it would seem that you've already been informed."

"If you think that you have what it takes to rule, you'd have made a real challenge rather than skulking about in the shadows to initiate a Noble's Game!" He growled. "Come outside and we'll settle this tonight!"

"A duel is something that I will not except."

"Because you're a coward!"

"If that is what not wanting to spill Pure Blood makes me, then yes. I am." A tittering went through the room at that statement; clearly his words had won him some points amongst the on-looking crowd and, much to the elder's displeasure, a flurry of movement went up as a handful changed sides.

"I will do whatever it takes, Rivaille, to prove to our entire race that you are an incompetent leader! You _will_ make mistakes, and when you do I will be there to see to it that all of these lemmings you've gathered to your call will see it! Once I'm through, you'll never be able to show your face again; you'll be condemned to the Underground and the Turned will tear you apart!"

"I think I'll be just fine, thank you. I won't be able to do everything myself, and I realize and accept that. But I also realize that a true leader doesn't rule alone."

"You say that," Reiss hissed, "but the truth of the matter is that you're just as ungrateful little bastard looking for more power!"

"I seek change, and nothing more." It was, admittedly, a struggle but he managed to remain calm and controlled. "The factions of the Night World are too divided. Relations with the Turned must be improved; with their superior numbers we'll finally be able to root out the blight that is the Hunter Sect. They may not be pure of blood but they have greater worth than can be left to rot in the sewers but you, Uncle, are far too set in the old ways to see it!"

"And now you all see!" Kenny jeered, throwing up his hands in an exasperated display. "Now it's made clear what he is! He calls himself a Pure Blood, and yet he calls for the acceptance of those curs into our society! What's next? Darkling rights? Treaties with Humans? Support him now and we'll soon be buried beneath the taint and filth of the Lesser Races!"

"Believe what you will; there will be no consequences if you choose to change sides." But deep down he found himself afraid; how much support had that outburst lost him? But no one moved. There was absolute silence. And then, from the crowd, someone spoke.

"He's right; we need to change. We're dying out, and it's the Old Ways that are killing us." That was all it took for the silence to be replaced with murmurs of agreement and fear. More shifting of sides until he was nearly being pushed forwards by the tightly packed numbers behind him and all that was left to his Uncle were a handful of the oldest nobles.

"Don't be so smug; look standing there with your little pet, smirking! Bah!" If the elder could have spit at him without losing any more face than he already had, Rivaille was sure he would have. "Don't rest on your laurels yet, you worthless little popinjay! You won't get away with this!"

Threats had been expected and prepared for and as such did little to chill the raven's blood, but Eren shifted slightly closer to him in a manner that was both protective and fearful.

"Rivaille." Turning to look he found both Farlan and Isabel at his shoulder. "I'm sure that threats were something you saw coming but…I think you should take this seriously. Maybe come and stay elsewhere until all of this has blown over? Both Isabel and I would be happy to have you come to stay with either of us."

"A kind offer to make, though for now it is unnecessary. His threat is an empty one, and will remain that way until he has evidence to prove any retaliation against me was justified. I don't intend to give him any."

"Are you sure about that?" Farlan didn't look convinced.

"Positive," he replied matter-of-factly before turning to Eren. "It's time to head home."


	9. Distant Thunder

"Are you really sure that we're safe, Levi? It sounded to me like Kenny meant that threat to be a serious one."

"He did, but like I said he won't be able to act on it without insurance that my allies wouldn't turn on him in retaliation." He explained calmly, observing him from the opposite seat in the back of the limousine. "I don't know how it is that politics work in Human society, but in the Night World the term 'cut throat' is taken to a whole new level. Alongside of the customary mudslinging violence is fair game but that doesn't extend only to the competing candidates, which means no matter how much he may want to he can't just turn around and off me without first making sure he can convince my supporters not to lynch him. Of course, that also means that every last one of us will have to mind our own sweet asses from this point forwards."

"That's…a lot of pressure."

He nodded. "Yes, it is. Hence the reason we see the power exchanging hands only rarely amongst out people; aside from the Smith Rebellion which was swiftly crushed Kenny has ruled unchallenged since 1201."

"Holy shit!"

"Holy shit is right. I knew going into this that a number of his supporters would be unshakable after so long, but what I didn't expect was that that number would turn out to be so small. It would seem that the want for change is greater than I had first thought, even amongst the old bloods."

"I think it's fair to say that change isn't what most of them are after." Eren said, folding his arms across his chest. "Just look at that Pixis guy; he did everything but outright admit he was in it for power. Quid pro quo is a low blow."

"Low and dirty, but necessary none the less. It matters less why he flipped and more that he flipped at all. If you had asked me before tonight, I'd have ranked him alongside Reiss with the other unshakables."

"Reiss," the Caribbean orbs turned away from the window out of which he'd been staring for most of the trip; the suit jacket had been shed and now lay across his lap, allowing just how tensely set his shoulders were to become clear. "He's the one who sent those two over to the manor; Hitch and Marlo."

"Yes, he is. And I doubt we've seen the last of them; in public, they'll likely shadow us like the plague. And that means we'll have to be even more careful than usual while out and about around the city; even those little gestures that are almost unconscious will have to be meticulously managed and controlled at all times."

"So this is how I'll live the rest of my life? Pretending that all I mean to you is a source of blood while in the public eye?" the prospect of that wasn't a happy one. Perhaps it was a foolish thing to hope for, but he'd wanted to have a future with the raven, perhaps even one day get married. But now it seemed that, in order to save both their races, that may have to be what was sacrificed.

"No, not for the rest of your life. But it could be months, even years, before it is safe to reveal the true nature of our relationship; it is necessary for both of us because once it's publically out there it can reach to Hunter Sect if they go through the right channels and then you'd be branded and hunted down."

"I'll keep up the act as long as necessary."

"Everything will turn out alright in the end, you must believe that."

"I do."

"Good," the car pulled to a stop at the front of the house to allow them out, then disappeared down the drive towards the garage. Together, they walked towards the doors and went inside. "I know that this is hard for you, Eren."

"It's hard for both of us, so if it's a pity party you're planning to throw make it for two." Stepping off his shoes, Eren made his way over to the other. "We take what we are given, roll with the punches whatever they may be, give the occasional middle finger to the established system and support each other no matter what; see to it that the other can never fall far enough to hit the ground, because our arms will always be there to catch them. But that's just what it means to be in love with someone, right?"

"All the same, it would do us both good to relax tonight wouldn't you agree? It may be our last chance for quite a while."

At that much the other grinned. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Head up to the bathroom and find out; once you're finished I expect you in my room." Confused but at the same time curious as to what it was the other might be planning Eren made his way up the stairs and down the hall. Did Levi just want him to shower? That would certainly fit with his clean freak tendencies, but he could tell immediately after opening the door to the bathroom that that was not the case. The lights were off, but the room was illuminated by the soft glow of numerous candles which had been set up along the walls and around the edge of the tub. Sitting on the counter beside a fluted crystals was a bottle of Welch's sparkling grape juice. Rolling his eyes but pouring himself a cup anyway, Eren carefully went about removing his clothing and slipped into the filled tub. The water was pleasantly warm and scented by some sort of bath salt. Sitting back against the rim, he sighed in contentment and closed his eyes.

_ Who knew that baths could be so amazing?_ It wasn't a totally foreign concept, he'd heard of taking baths for the purposes of relaxation before but had never done so himself. The last time he could remember ever taking a bath had been when he was five and too young to operate the shower. But this was pure bliss. Time passed, he didn't know how much-he may have even fallen asleep at one point-and by the time he had finally emerged the water had gone cold. It was a somewhat embarrassing experience to pad back down the hallway wearing nothing but a towel though, thankfully, he didn't encounter anyone and made it safely into the other's room. A shirtless Rivaille was sitting on the edge of the bed watching him with an amused expression on his face.

"You enjoyed it, I assume? You were certainly in there for a while."

He nodded. "It was nice; in all honesty I never believed in all of that stuff people would say about the relaxing properties of bathing until now. Though, can I ask you about something?"

"Knowing you you'd ask anyway even if I told you no, so go ahead."

"Welches? Really?"

"I would have put champagne in there, but you don't drink remember?"

"Well I guess that's true."

"You guess? It is true!" The raven snorted. "Are you going to come over here or just stand in the doorway all night?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Calm down." Trotting across the room, he sat down beside the other. "Patience might be something that's good for you to exercise."

"Little hypocrite bastard, now aren't you?"

"Always!" said brightly with a winning smile, earning a roll of the other's eyes.

"Foot."

"Huh?"

"The thing attached to the bottom of your leg with the toes growing out of it dumb ass! Give it to me!" Eren rolled his eyes at the demanding tone, but slung his leg across the other's lap regardless. "Was that difficult?"

"No, but you didn't have to be so demanding; I didn't understand immediately because I'd assumed that you'd misspoken in the midst of a swear."

Rivaille snickered at that much, picking up the bottle of lotion and squeezing some out into his hand. "Well, I didn't misspeak though inserting a bit more of an explanation before-hand may well have been a good idea." The brunet watched as the raven warmed the lotion between his hands before proceeding to carefully begin massaging his foot.

"A bath? A massage? You planned this out, didn't you?" he asked, genuinely curious as to the other's answer as he watched the slight changings play across his companion's almost expressionless face.

"I did, yes. Like I said, this may well be the last time in a very long while that we get the chance to really relax; and I think that you deserve a little bit of pampering. You make for a very good partner in crime."

"A shadow partner, maybe." Came the grumbled reply as the other worked his hands further up the brunet's long legs.

"Unseen though you may be, you're integral and I want that to be made very clear from the beginning. I meant it when I said that true leaders do not rule alone."

Now Eren looked surprised. "When you said that at the meeting, you were referring to me?"

"Who did you think I was talking about, brat?" he asked him, pulling back slightly to meet the other's gaze. "Lay down, front first."

This time obeying the command without question Eren stretched out across the bed with a small sigh, the first thing he noticed was the scent of the other-tea and peppermint-which was immediately relaxing. "I didn't really think you were talking about anyone in particular, really. I thought it was just a generalization; like saying that one of the qualities of a true leader is the ability to trust others enough to share their power with them."

"I meant that as well, yes. But I had you, and no one else, on my mind at the time that I said it." His hands moved to his back, kneading with just enough pressure to reach deep into the muscle and release the tension which had built up in his shoulders while at the same time making the teen hyperaware that the other was straddling his hips. "And, just so that you know, I am planning on instituting some regulations so that it can better be insured that what happened to your family doesn't happen again to anyone else. Perhaps even reach a truce of sorts with the Hunters. Either way, I doubt that now is the best time to make such intentions public knowledge; we need to keep as much support for as long as possible."

"And you'll have me manage any negotiations towards that truce, I assume." He asked, smiling into the pillow.

"If you would be willing to do so, yes. Something tells me you'd be a better received liaison than any one of us. But enough of that, there will be plenty of time for planning later. For now, we unwind and forget about all of that for a while." That being said, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss against one of his shoulders.

"You're certainly making that easy for me," Eren's voice was laced with warm contentment and it was fair to say that his mind had gone rather blank. "But what about you? This seems very one sided."

"Unfamiliar with the concept of foreplay, I see." Despite the fact that the younger's face was hidden in the pillow, he knew for a fact that Eren was blushing. An unintelligible grumble reached his ears in answer. "I'm fine with waiting a little bit longer it that's what it takes to make our first time special." Carefully climbing off of him, he added "roll over." Oceanic eyes were blinking up at him a few seconds later. "If you start to get uncomfortable-."

Eren's warm hand came to rest against the side of his face, twinning in his black hair. "Don't." He told him, cutting off his words. "I want this. To go all the way. I'm ready, and like you said this could be out last chance for a very long time."

"All the same," the raven continued without breaking from his gaze, "I want you to know that you have an out if you happen to chance your mind." Before the other could say anything else, Rivaille gently pressed his mouth to Eren's in a passion-filled kiss; chaste enough, but warm and overflowing with emotion as their lips fit together like the long lost pieces of a puzzle. Eren's long thin arms wound around his shoulders to pull him closer as Rivaille carefully traced the tip of his tongue against his lower lip in a request for entry. The brunet didn't hesitate to allow him inside, and soon their tongues were twinning around each other, caressing and tasting and familiarizing with every inch of the newfound territory until the human's need for air became too much and the raven was forced to withdraw slightly to allow him to breathe. There was a slight sense of disappointment but such came with the territory or mortals, and so he occupied himself by taking in the sight of him-lips kiss bruised and bare chest heaving as he gasped for air-as Eren lay beneath him trying to recover.

"Holy shit!" He panted. "You've kissed me before but never like that, Jesus Christ!"

"Enjoyed it, did you?" He nuzzled his cheek and then gently nibbled on the shell of his ear, carefully scrapping the tips of his fangs against the sensitive skin and smirking when he felt the other's blood heat up again with yet another blush. "There's more where that came from, never you worry." A flurry of butterfly kisses traced down along his jawline until he reached his neck; knowing full well exactly where the other was most sensitive Rivaille went right to that point and started sucking on the skin, biting and bruising until the mark left behind was to his satisfaction and the brunet was moaning and squirming beneath him. "Hold still, brat. You're flopping around like a fish out of water." Teeth scrapping over collarbone as he switched is attention to slowly making his way down his chest.

"I know, I'm sorry! I-ngh!" Eren yelped when the other's tongue flicked out and carved a frigid crescent across the pale pink nub of flesh before taking it completely into his mouth. "You're doing this on purpose!"

"Damn right I am; it's more than a little bit satisfying to know that I have the power to reduce you to a wriggling mess." No shame whatsoever in that statement. "It lets me know that I'm doing something right." Continuing on his warpath of marks and kisses and finally reaching the barrier of cloth that was the towel wrapped around his waist he smirked and pawed him through the material, eliciting a choked off squeak. Stopping momentarily in his administrations Rivaille observed the other's face; the pale pink shadow of a blush that seemed hell-bent on remaining with Eren for the duration of their activities accompanied by a hazy of lust and hooded eyes but no signs of discomfort with proceedings was to be seen. He removed the towel in one fluid motion and averted his eyes from his lover's face to the only part of him he'd yet to see; erect, nestled in a coil of coarse dark hair and dripping precum. A moment's hesitation was followed by thin fingers enclosing the length to gently squeeze and stroke in an upward motion from the base. Eren hissed quietly, throwing his head back and biting his lips hard enough to draw blood in an effort to keep himself quiet but only managing to slightly stifle his moan. He continued his administrations, watching as the umber haired hunter succumbed to his carnal urges, memorizing the pleasured timbre of his voice and the exact expression on his face before releasing his hold on him to take the younger's length into his mouth instead. Warm hands immediately came down on him, knotting in his hair and yanking blindly as their owner made a desperate effort to force him down further at his hips jerked upwards almost of their own accord. He had to momentarily fight against his gag reflex in an effort not to choke as the tip brushed against the back of his throat, pulling back slightly and again employing his hand on the portion that he couldn't comfortable reach in hopes of calming some of the other's lustful violence. Eren's breath was coming in heavier and heavier pants, mewls spilling out in place of words when he tried to speak until finally, after an enormous struggle, he managed to force out a disjointed warning. "Levi-ahh—I-I-ngh!-cumming!" He saw white as his first release crashed over him with the force of a tidal wave, and by the time he'd recovered the raven had pulled away and was kneeling over him. Both were panting and a trickle of whitish fluid was tracing its way along his chin. Eren pulled him closer, crushing their lips together for a moment before straying slightly to lick away what the other had missed; the taste of himself-salty and somewhat bitter but no unpleasant-was enough to fire him up again. Rivaille growled low in his throat, attacking him and pinning the younger male to the bed with one hand as he struggled with his last few articles of clothing with the other.

"My turn." The dresser drawer clattered loudly as he yanked it out, nearly pulling the entire dresser over in his search for the bottle that was finally wrenched free of its depths. Clear cold liquid coated his fingers as he lifted one of the brunet's legs over his shoulders for better access to his entrance. Eren inhaled sharply when he felt the freezing digit coated in cold lube probed for a moment before slipping inside. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it feels a little weird but it doesn't hurt." A second finger was added, making him flinch. "OK, that one hurt!"

"Well we have to do this, otherwise it'll hurt a whole hell of a lot more when something a lot bigger then my fingers goes in there."

"I know, just…try and be a little more gentle please?" to this much the other didn't answer, but the third finger was more carefully worked into the tight ring of muscle then the preceding two had been as he finished stretching the opening and took his hand back before placing it on his hip alongside the other instead to rub small circles into the smooth skin. "Are you ready?"

Eren nodded, holding his breath and screwing his eyes shut as the raven slowly maneuvered himself inside. Even with the preparation it _hurt_; tears pricked the corners of his eyes and a small whimper escaped from his lips before he could stop it. Hands gently caressed his face, wiping away the tears that had started to fall. "I know that it hurts and I'm sorry. But I promise that it will get better."

"J-Just move!" Deep down he knew he should probably have given his body more time to adjust to foreign intrusion but at the moment he was too eager for the pain to disappear to care. He did his best to soothe him with whispered sweet nothings as Eren again wrapped his arms around the other's back and buried his face in his shoulder. Each time his hips moved it felt as if he were being slip in half. It felt horrible; tearing skin and stretching muscle. And then, out of nowhere, the pain vanished as little white dots popped in front of his vision and he clawed at the other's back, drawing blood in his haste to catch his attention. "There!" Eren squealed as he hit it again, beginning to pick up speed now that the brunet wasn't feeling any sort of pain at all. Soon the entire bed was swaying, the legs emitting an occasional quite scape across the wooden floor. Sweat dripped off their forms, warming the air as pants and grunts and the slapping of skin against skin filled the room. Eren's heart was beating impossibly fast, pounding in his breast as his blood sang hot and fragrant through his veins. Finally able to take it no longer he allowed his control to break, feeling the youth below him arch his back and cry out as the other's white hot release filled him to the brim and his own splattered his chest and stomach. Feeling exhausted in a way that he hadn't been in years, but at the same time more than satisfied, Rivialle lowered himself onto the sheets beside his consort for once not caring that they were soiled with sweat and fluids. Content to bask in the afterglow with his lover, he reached out to pull him closer.

"Eren," he turned his head to look at him questioningly, eyes still glazed by the lust that had yet to fully fade. "I need you to promise me something."

"Of course; whatever you need." He replied blearily, nestling himself into the other's embrace.

"I need you to promise me that no matter what happens you'll do all in your power to see to it that your heart never stops beating. You live for both of us Eren; you're my light and my warmth and without you I've nothing. I need you."

"I'm mortal, so I'll have to die one day. You know that. So I can't promise that I'll always be with you; I don't want to ever lie to you." The brunet sighed, closing his eyes. "However, until that days comes when Death himself rides up on his pale horse to take me away I'm not going anywhere. Not without you."

That was all that he needed to hear.

"It's getting bad out there, Mikasa."

Tearing herself away from the busy work that she had assigned herself in an effort to keep her mind occupied, the ravenette threw a casual glance over her shoulder at the nearby window before raising her eyebrow at the blonde. "What do you mean? Sure it's cold and there's some snow on the ground, but it's sunny." She went back to her paperwork well aware that he continued to stare at her as if she had suddenly sprouted a tail.

"So you haven't heard, then?" he asked after a moment.

"Heard what," she asked carefully, delicately, in a way that made it clear to anyone who knew her that she was beginning to get nervous.

"Three weeks ago Rivaille Ackerman made a power play against his Uncle. The aftershocks of it are still juttering through their society and Kenny is pissed; they haven't gotten involved in open combat yet, but it's only a matter of time-and not much of it-before they go at it and when they do-."

"Eren will be caught in the middle."

"That's what our Superiors are afraid of; they've been trying to get in contact with him."

"Trying? What do you mean trying; they have his number and it isn't as if Sina city doesn't have cellphone reception!" She all but shrieked, leaping up out of his chair.

"Their calls haven't been going through for some reason; he either doesn't have his phone on him, or he hasn't been answering it." Armin explained. "We're being sent in for a manual extraction attempt; their ordering bus tickets now, so we should be setting out within the hour."

One hour for the tickets. A two hour bus ride. "Three hours." Three hours and she'd see her brother in person again for the first time in months. Hug him until he pried her off and check him head to toe for injury until she was completely and utterly sure that he was perfectly fine. Three hours and she'd have her family back and finally, finally, be able to rest easy.

"Three hours to get there, yes. It could be days before we actually manage to locate him." But she didn't seem to be paying attention to his words, not wanting to be disturbed in that moment by a voice of reason. "We don't know how long we'll be there, so we should definitely plan accordingly."

And so that was how they spent their hour, packing and repacking until everything they could possibly ever conceivably need until their bags were so heavy they could barely carry them. The bus stop was only a few city blocks down but the walk felt to her as if it took forever; the kneeling bus hissed at them as they boarded it, belching a cloud of steam into the cold air. The drive to Sina, curled together in the very back of the bus, seemed like an eternity. Clouds had gathered as they traveled and by the time the two had gotten off and made it to the hotel where they would be staying a cold crisp rain had started to fall.

"Were are we even going to start looking, Armin?" she asked him quietly. "Sina is huge, and if what you say is true that it's becoming a certifiable warzone. We can't just go walking up to Rivaille's manor and drag him out."

"We'll have to catch him in a public place." Armin replied, pulling a small hand held device; he powered it on and began fiddling with the touch screen. "This should be able to help us."

Leaving the mini fridge behind, she came over. "What is that?"

"It's a phone tap, of sorts. Once I input his number, if he has his cellphone on him we can track his movements." He explained, typing in a few things followed by Eren's familiar number. A few seconds passed before a red blip appeared on the screen. "Looks like he's at the manor in Stohess now."

"It's moving." Mikasa noted as the red blip began to move down the street.

"Yeah, it is; we need to leave!" Stuffing the device into his pocket, Armin leapt to his feet. "We'll figure out where he ends up once they stop moving!" Not even bothering to grab an umbrella or their coats, the pair rushed out of the hotel and took off down the street.

"Where does it look like it's going?"

"Some sort of store? It's stopping a few doors down from here." Puddles splashed loudly as they darted through them, cars swerving and honking their horns as they dashed across the street just in time to see a sleek black limo glide to a stop. A familiar figure immediately leapt out of the back and scrambled around to the other side to allow another well-dressed man out onto the parking lot.

"You have the list I assume, brat?" The raven growled, grey eyes matching the brewing storm overhead narrowing as he ran a hand through his undercut hair. So this was Rivaille.

"Oh, I…yes!" He searched through his pockets a moment before pulling out a sli of paper and unfolding it. "Here, Maitré."

"At least you're not completely worthless." He snapped. "We don't have forever, dumbass!" Together to pair disappeared into the store; exchanging a glance for a moment, the two quickly followed. They shadowed them as the two moved about the store, Eren submissive and subdued in a way that she had never seen him with his green eyes dull and dark like something dead, trying the best they could to catch his attention before finally managing to do so. A look of shock and anger flashed momentarily across his otherwise deanimated face but disappeared quickly; he offered up some form of subservient excuse before leaving the other's side and making straight for the aisle where they hid.

"What the hell are the two of you doing here?" he demanded, expression dark. "I told you, I was fine!"

"We were sent to get you by our superiors, Eren." Armin informed him, careful to remain quiet enough that the other standing nearby couldn't overhear them. "They've been trying to call you but you haven't been answering; with how volatile the political climate has become, it's too dangerous to stay here."

"I'm fine, believe me." He replied. "I'm going to stay undercover until I see this out; the Ackerman's are fighting amongst themselves. If he succeeds in displacing Kenny and I kill him, the entire Night World would collapse."

"Eren, no! This is a really bad idea!" His sister told him bluntly. "If you stay, anything could happen! If you're injured-!"

"Oi, brat! It doesn't take a God damn millennium to pick out a bag of rice!" All three of them jumped at the snarled shout.

"I have to go. I'll see the two of you again at some point." Grabbing the first bag of rice off the shelf, he took off back towards the other before either of them could stop him. He was grabbed roughly by the shirt collar, shaken and snarled at for his tardiness and then dragged to the checkout counter. And just like that her brother was gone.

"What are we going to do?" she turned to him in shock, eyes wide with surprise. "I've always known that he was stubborn, but this?"

"There isn't much that we can do, aside from keeping on his tail in hopes of finding another chance to get him alone. Either to change his mind, or drag him back to Rose by force." But both of them knew that they would have a hard time doing that.


	10. Darker

What happened back there?"

Dinner had finished out about an hour before hand, and now the pair were left sitting at the dining room table over drinks-wine that, this time, Eren had accepted with only slight reluctance-in relative silence. The encounter with his sister and best friend at the grocer had occurred at around noon, it was six in the evening now and until that moment no word of what had transpired had been spoken by either of them. The brunet had almost hoped that it would remain to be that way.

"Why do you ask?" Eren inquired, meeting the other's eyes in an effort to seek some manner of inflection there.

"Because it doesn't take that long to choose between Arbori and Short Grain rice. So just what was it that you were doing?"

"…I was hoping that this wouldn't come up, because I didn't want you to have to worry over it on top of everything else that is already on your plate."

At this much the raven's normal inexpression transformed into a frown. "When you say shit like that you make me worry even more, brat."

"It's nothing, really. At least…nothing bad." He said quietly, staring down into the depths of the deep nightshade colored liquid filling his crystal glass. "All of the recent political shit has made it back to the Hunter Sect. My superiors have been trying to contact me to pull me out; I've been letting those calls go unanswered. Apparently that didn't dissuade them quite as much as I would have liked it to, because they sent my sister and best friend up here to try and drag me back."

"Seeing that you're still here, I take it that you refused?"

He nodded. "I gave them some bullshit story about waiting until you and your Uncle had a fight to the death so that I could then swoop in and slaughter the winner while they're wounded."

"They believed you?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that they got back on the damn bus and went home!" He informed him with a sigh. "They're still in the city, staying at some hotel no doubt. They'll make another attempt-possibly more than one-to bring me home and may eventually even resort to force, so if I end up kidnapped rest assured that I am safe in Rose and will be getting back to you as soon as possible."

"Do you think, perhaps, that it may be a good idea for you to simply go back with them?"

"No, he replied immediately. "Do you?"

The chair that the raven had been sitting in scrapped quietly against the floor as he stood up, then walked quietly to one of the windows where he stood staring out at the sloping lawns with his hands clasped behind his back. "Yes, I do. Not because I do not want you here with me, not because I believe that you are not needed in matters, but because I believe that it would better keep you safe."

"At first glance it may seem that it would, but in reality it will only make it worse Levi. As an active Hunter I'd be dispatched on another mission within a week, perhaps not against you but potentially against one of our 'allies'. The level of danger wouldn't change, other than to increase. You and I both know that." Leaving his own seat, Eren walked up to the other and set his hand gently against his shoulder. "Besides, my place is here with you. I'm not going anywhere."

"I think I knew from the start that that would be your answer. But how will you address the issue if they do return for you?" Levi's grey eyes narrowed slightly, taking him in. "Will you tell them the truth? And if you do, will they understand?"

"No; I don't want the Hunter-sect to know the true state of things before they have to. We may yet find ourselves in further need of my cover story in case we have to pull off any sort of deception; once I've been branded a traitor I won't be able to pull any strings." Registering the other's look of minor shock, he demanded "what?"

"Not much, brat; don't go getting your panties tied into a knot. I'm just surprised that you're so willing, to the point where you seem to have planned ahead a great deal, to pull one over on your former faction; your friends and family."

"Willing?" Eren repeated, leaning his weight against the wall with a sad sigh. "I'm not willing, Levi, but I'm also not a fool. This is war, and you and I both have no mistakes about that much; merely a political war-for the moment-between you and Kenny, but a real physical war with the Hunters and it always has been. I realize that, if our envisioned perfect world is ever to come to pass, it won't just be the Turned Ones and the Pure Bloods that have to get along. To Vampires and the Humans will have to as well, and that means that the Hunter sect will have to be…re-educated. The only way to bend them is through blood shed, believe me. It will not be happily that I do it, but I've come to terms with the fact that sacrifices must be made."

Rivaille hummed in answer, considering his words for a while, carefully turning them over and over in his head. "A war means both sacrifices and casualties and with all that has happened of late it seems to be drawing close to becoming a three sided one. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; we'll soon be forced to let Isabelle and Farlan in on our secret, and perhaps take them up on their offer, in order to insure our safety. Assurances and precautions taken aside, I've begun to get a bad feeling about things."

For a moment Eren just stared at him flatly without saying a word, then nodded. "You and me both."

By that time they'd been in the city for three days and the shifting of the frayed and faded carpet beneath her nervous footsteps had become familiar. Listen to it while lying stretched out on his back in bed, Armin watched the soft drinking of the little red dot on the tracker's screen that was his best friend wondering exactly what it was that he could be up to. Cooking? Cleaning? Those had never been what one could call his strongest skillset; his personality just didn't fit with the domesticity of such things, so he found it difficult to imagine him making it for very long with that as his cover but from what they'd seen so far he seemed to have adapted fairly well. Or perhaps it was something else that he had been forced to resort to in order to remain close enough-and alive-for the span of time required to accomplish his goals. Something that was suggested by the silver crescent scars imprinted at the base of his throat which Mikasa, thankfully, hadn't seemed to notice. That, again, was something that he found rather difficult to believe but taking into account the fact that Eren was willing and able to go whole hog if necessary to achieve whatever he'd set his eyes on it wasn't impossible that he was bartering with blood to buy himself time.

"What's he doing now?" the sound of her voice piercing the relative silence after so long brought him out of his thoughts with a small start.

"I can't tell you what he's doing, but his location started moving away from Stohess about 10 minutes ago. He's headed somewhere, but I'm not sure where."

"Has he stopped? Or are they still moving?"

"No, he's just stopped. But it doesn't seem to be at a building, or at least not one that is currently being used for anything." Armin informed her.

"What district is it in? What other reason would that fang-faced bastard drag him to some abandoned building then for harm?"

"I don't know, but regardless of the reason we can't go after him Mikasa! It's in Mitras!" Mitras, the district where no Humans lived. Where a Hunter had to have a death wish to enter. That stopped her cold. "We need to stay calm. I'm sure that Eren is fine; it's probably some sort of political subterfuge, like a secret meeting. Kenny probably has been having his nephew followed 24-7 waiting for any sort of screw ups to use against him. And that, of course, makes it more problematic for us."

"What are you saying, exactly?" she asked him, again ceasing her pacing in order to stare. "That we should leave my brother your best friend, in the lion's jaws and just go home?"

"No. What I'm saying is that we only have a few more days here before our superiors call us back to Rose barracks. Until they do we'll continue doing what we can to try and get Eren out of here but once they call us back we should go. If he thinks that he has the situation under control, which clearly he does, then we should believe him. He isn't a member of the top 10 for nothing, none of us are."

Reluctance clearly displayed on her face, Mikasa made her way over to her own bed and sat down. "…Alright, if we can't catch him alone and drag him back within the next three days when they call us back we'll go. But you'd better believe we're not going to waste a single moment in the effort."

Setting aside the tracker on the sheets, Armin let out a somewhat resigned sigh. "I knew you wouldn't agree to having things any other way."

"When you said neutral meeting point I didn't think you meant an open field." Eren said, peering out the window in a perturbed manner as Rivaille turned off the car. "I thought the whole point of this was so that we wouldn't be overheard. All our stalkers have to do is hide in a damn bush; this is what you call incognito?"

"We're not meeting in the field itself." The raven informed him as he got out of the car.

"Oh?" Eren inquired, following after quickly. "Is there a tree house hidden nearby? Maybe a building in the middle of the field that's shrouded from view by some sort of freaky vampiric invisibility magic?"

"'Magic' is the sort of territory more reserved for the Turned; they like to dabble in all of that sort of rather ridiculous things." Rivaille told him as he trotted to a stop. "No, where we're going has been hidden by much more conventional means than smoke and mirrors." Reaching down as he spoke he felt around for a moment in the long grass before pulling up a hidden door to reveal an underground bunker. Bumbshelter-esque in appearance with four unadorned concrete walls it was bare bones with only the absolute necessities inside. Blinking up at them from within the little underground room were Isabelle and Farlan. "You first, brat." Peering downwards nervously and relieved to find a ladder, Eren shimmied swiftly down it as Rivaille followed. A moment of total darkness followed when he shut the door before an electric lantern filled the room with a dim light which was more than food enough for Vampiric eyes but left poor Eren nearly blind.

"I take it that you called us here because you wanted to make sure we couldn't be overheard; has something happened, Rivaille?" Farlan was the first to speak.

"Yeah Rivi, what's wrong? When you get all serious like that I get worried." Isabelle said.

"Nothing is wrong, at least no more than it has been. But, of all of my followers, the two of you are the ones I trust…at all, actually." Walking over to a nearby branch, the raven sat down. "In light of the ratcheting up of the violence between some of my supporters and some of my Uncle's I've begun to feel that it may be useful to all of our personal safety to consolidate our forces; for our covens to make a habit of living together in an effort to deter any violence that may be aimed directly at us with our numbers. That, of course, would then call for full disclosure; Eren and I couldn't possibly hope to continue our act indefinitely.

"Act?" Farlan repeated, clearly confused and somewhat nervous. "What do you mean by 'act'? And why are you including your Supplicant in this?"

"Because I'm not really his Supplicant. I'm his consort." Said as he crossed the little bunker to take a seat beside the raven, glowering lionishly at the other purebloods as if daring them to do something. A moment of silence followed before Isabelle let out a high pitched shriek of glee and began bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Oooh! I should have known; Rivi, you made a great choice! He's such a cutie!"

The other's response to the revelation was more subdued. "Shit." Clearly he'd been blindsided. "Explain to me exactly how it is that you've ended up mated to a human!"

"Oh Farlan, don't be so serious you're talking like you're going to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, Isabelle. I've already given my word to that much; he knows that he has had my loyalty since many years ago. Of course, that doesn't mean I am happy about being jumped with something like this!" He huffed. "If this gets out, I don't need to tell you what would happen. Kenny would have a field day; the other Pure Bloods would tear you apart before the Turned even got a chance."

"I know that, Church. Why the hell do you think I felt the need for a sound proof fucking bunker?" Rivialle grumbled. "If you're through with chiding me like some sort of badly behaved three year old, I'd like to get started with the explination you wanted so damn badly."

"I'm sorry," the other replied, evidently quick to cool down on the rare occasion he did get noticeably upset. "I look up to and respect you, you know that, but this is a little much!" Sitting down as well, he quieted in favor of looking at the other expectantly.

"It started a few months back at the annual shit fest that my Uncle always holds. This little bastard," he nudged the brunet sitting beside him playfully and received a raspberry in return, "showed up dressed like a communal sycophant armed with a wooden stake and hellbent on killing me; he'd been sent in by the Hunter sect because, yes, he's not just a Human he's also a Vampire Hunter. He made a dumb ass fuck up, got himself caught, and instead of killing him I decided that because he was a pretty piece of ass-and type AB-that I did break him and then turn him into a _real _Supplicant. A few months into that attempt I found myself in love with him instead, which I still have no explanation for, so I did all that I could to undo the damage that I had caused. From that point I began to court him, finally convinced this little shit head that I no longer meant him any harm and we embarked on a mutual campaign to kick Kenny out of his long over-held throne. So there you have it; full disclosure."

"…It'll take a few days to move everything around and get situated. Logistically it's a bit of a nightmare, but I suppose that it is necessary especially knowing what we now do." Farlan said. "Just one thing."

"And what would that be?" Rivialle asked.

The other's grey eyes flickered nervously over to Eren and then back again. "Um…there's really no way to put this lightly. Is there any danger of us being…mauled by him? Hunters aren't exactly known for their overwhelming affection towards our kind."

"My family was murdered by Vampires so yes, I have no love for your kind; the Pure Blood bastards on Kenny's side of things at least. From what I have seen and been explained of the pair of you I find that I like you both. However," his mood swiftly shifted into something dark and threatening, "betray him and I will end you."

"Oi, calm down brat! Save the malice for someone who deserves it."

"Just to make myself completely clear; I am sure that you would do the same if something were to ever happen to me."

"Oh no, I'd do far worse. I wouldn't just kill them, I'd make them suffer every ounce of what I was before I rip them into little pieces. But that isn't the point, aimee." Gentle stroking of his back served to calm the other slightly. "He's already nervous of you as it is, there's no need to menace our few friends."

"It's just my nature to be over protective, I suppose." Turning to Farlan who was still watching him as if afraid he'd pounce and try to rip his face off at any moment, he grinned. "Sorry about that. I'm actually very well behaved unless given reason not to be."

"For the most part." The stroking moved up to coming through his hair. "But you're still a spoiled little shit. Of course, the fault of that much likely lies with me."

"Oh? I agree; if course I think you also ought to ask yourself if it's for my benefit or yours."

"That doesn't seem to make all that much difference to you when you're on the receiving end of it, so why are you trying to profile me now?"

Eren stretched his back before draping himself around the other's shoulders. "You can't blame me for my learned habits; my best friend is practically a psychiatrist so I've picked up a few things from him without really realizing it."

As the exchange had taken place between them the honey brunet's cautious gaze had transformed into a look of amused surprise. "I've never seen him so placid when someone else is touching him without first being dunked in a germ-x bath."

"They're so adorable together!" Isabelle happily beamed at them. "Though I do have one concern; when we do move in with you, you two rowdy boys won't be keeping us up at night, will you?"

Eren turned bright red and promptly hid his face in the other's neck. "No, Isabelle. It's rare these days that he and I are together outside of in public, so there's no need for you to worry about that."

"Perfect! When do you want us to have moved in by?"

"As soon as possible." Needless to say it would be a while before the pair could welcome peace back into their home. Such, it seemed, was the cost of change.


	11. One Mistake

Weeks had passed by, largely spent with the pair hiding in bushes, sheltering in doorways or skulking around in alley ways all for nothing thus far, because their quarry was nothing if not careful. At times cautious even to the point of paranoia. Rivaille would leave his house at times, sometimes accompanied by a member of his coven or another of his supposed allies at his side but most often shadowed by the boy to attend meetings with his supporters and address problems before they could come back to bite him. He'd even gone so far as to call two other nobles to live at his compound along with their own covens in hopes that the superior numbers of a conjoined clan would offer some greater protection; it certainly seemed to have frightened away the two hunters that had been poking around a few days before, but hadn't served for much else. Nothing usable, or even out of the ordinary, had happened despite their 24-7 vigilance; if anything the raven was currently over performing to his peers and each time it seemed that his charade might yet collapse around his ears to bury him alive it instead cemented him further as the darling of the night, poster child for much needed change. Unrest had broken out, not just amidst the gentry in Sina but in the Pure Blood population throughout the world. Propaganda was spreading like wild fire and with each passing moment the old structure of power was on shakier and shakier ground. And yet still in the midst of the world as they knew it falling down around them his so called stakeout partner, stretched out cat napping beneath a nearby tree, had the nerve to complain! "I'm boooored!"

Annoyed, Marlo cast her a glare over one shoulder. "Maybe you wouldn't be 'bored' if you did your job, Hitch!"

"Do my job? Is that what you said?" she hissed, glaring back at him without moving. "And stare at a house all damn day? It was bad enough when it was just Ral, Shultz, Jinn and Bosard that we had to worry about stumbling on us. Now that we have to contend with Church, Magnolia _and _their covens as well we can't even get close enough to look in the windows without getting caught let alone go inside to search for evidence of wrong doing."

"That is no excuse for you to slack off!" He grumbled, returning his eyes to the inactivity of the manor which had proceeded for the better part of the past few hours. _She's right, but still we can't just go back empty handed. That said, at this point I doubt anything we could possible hope to find would make much difference at this point. It would take a hail Mary to turn the tides now, and with how careful he's been…_ his thoughts trailed off as the boy appeared on the porch with one of Church's goons, who was snickering at him and waving a box of cigarettes in the air. The kid seemed to be refusing but eventually gave in and took one; a single pull was all it took to reduce the brunet to a wheezing mess, much to the amusement of the other; the amusement swiftly ended when Ral appeared on the scene and chewed both of them out for acting like idiots before dragging Eren inside. A few more minutes of silence passed before the black car returned from yet another trip and the raven quickly vanished into the house. "The sun is going down in a couple of hours. It's unlikely that they'll break their normal habit and go anywhere for the rest of the night so we can probably-wait!"

"What? What?" Hitch demanded, finally scrambling over to look for herself. The front door had opened, allowing an excited Magnolia out onto the lawn; she promptly dove into the back seat of the limousine and disappeared. Farlan and Rivaille soon followed at a much calmer pace with the still recovering brunet at their heels and got into the car as well. "Forget calling it off for the night; we've got to follow them!"

"I'm sorry Eren, he should have known better."

The teen sniffed and coughed slightly before answering. "It's my fault, I'm the one who took the damn thing."

"Hmm." Beside him Rivaille crossed his arms over his chest. "What I don't understand if why you'll only accept alcohol begrudgingly and proceed to barely drink it after months of my cajoling but only a few minutes of wheedling by someone you barely know and you'll suck on a cancer stick?"

"You only have to be 18 to legally smoke, which I will be in a few more months." Eren replied. "That said, I doubt I'll ever do it. That was terrible!"

"From what I hear, Petra was _not_ happy."

He nodded. "Takes a women's touch to be that terrifying; she looks out for me when you're not around, which I'm grateful for."

"As they all should, and do; you're one of us after all, if perhaps not by blood." Teal eyes slid closed in contentment as he rested his head on the other's chest. "Another thing I would like to know is why we're being dragged to a pier in Rose City when it's the middle of January."

"The middle of January and 60 degrees outside!" the red head chirped happily. "With all of the stuff that has been going on recently I'm sure that we could all make use of a chance to cut loose and relax but Sina isn't safe and Maria is too far away."

"And Rose is infested with Hunter-sect lunatics!" Farlan pointed out archly. "Somehow I doubt that all of them are as reasonable about Vampires as Eren is."

"Clearly you and I have differing definitions of 'reasonable'."

"Oi!"

"Calm down, brat." He smirked as the other tried to glare menacingly up at him but accidently ended up making puppy dog eyes instead. "We could try telling them that we're on vacation, but I doubt that would go over well."

"Just steer clear of the bar and arcade on the pier, that's where we all used to spend our free time because Hannes wasn't exactly…worried about you being legal to drink or not as long as you were in uniform." Eren advised. "Mind you, most of them will be so shit-faced they'll be long passed the ability to recognize their own reflections in the bottom of their cups, but still."

"We'll be sure to do that, brat." He pulled the hood of the black hoodie over the other's eyes and watched in amusement as he just sat there for a few moments before pulling it off. "Why the baggy clothing? Planning to rob a department store while we're here?"

"We're going in to Rose City; the pier is a block away from the barracks and God only knows who could see me! I'm wearing it because the hood covers most of my face, as you so kindly demonstrated." Sound enough logic. "More importantly, you brought cash right?"

"Cash and plastic you nosey little shit, why?"

"Because I want to play some of the games and they only take cash."

"Can we go shopping for a little bit first? I want to check out some of the stores while they're still open."

Pulling up his sleeve just slightly to unveil to face of the watch he wore, Farlan noted the time. "It will be around 5 when we get there, so we should probably stop somewhere and eat as well."

"Yes, we'll take care of all of that as well. But we've still got a ways to go." Rivaille reminded the other three, who-at least in the case of Isabelle and Eren-looked about ready to leap out of the moving car. "Let's just hope that we don't run into any sort of traffic." The remainder of the journey passed in intermittent stages of comfortable silence and friendly conversation. Finally reaching Rose City after just short of two hours, they were all more than ready to be out of the car. "We should probably eat first, and then do an hour of shopping before heading to the pier. Where do you want to eat?"

All eyes expectantly turned to Eren. "This is the Klorva district which has a lot of good shops and restaurants. Titan Café is personally my favorite place to eat in this entire city but that is in Trost district and is literally right next door to the barracks so that's off the table." He mused. "The Garrison is only a block away; they have the best BBQ in all of Rose."

"Garrison it is then; lead the way brat." A minute later they were climbing out onto the pavement outside of the restaurant after Rivaille had given Gunther the time to return and pick them up at the end of the night. The walls of the sports bar were made of darkly painted roughhewn wooden planks hung with jerseys and sports memorabilia. A college football game between the Scouts and the Titans was playing on the many flat screen TVs handing from the walls. The interior was dimly lit and filled with sweet smelling hickory smoke and a hostess was standing behind the desk smiling brightly at them.

"Table for four? Or would you like to sit at the bar?"

"Table, please."

"Right this way." She lead them to a nearby empty table where they sat down and ordered drinks; Root beer for Eren, water for Isabelle and Farlan and, of course, hot tea for Rivaille. "Your waiter will be over in a few moments, please take the time to peruse the menu."

The brunet wasted no time in opening the menu, but the raven was far more reluctant to so much as touch it. "Ugh! It's covered in smudges and fingerprints! Disgusting!" He grumbled, eyeing the menu in front of him as if it were some viscous animal. "Don't they ever wipe them down?"

Eren snorted, but spread his menu between them. "Here, look off mine if you don't want to touch it." The other's relief was more than just a little bit amusing. "Don't get me wrong the food that you've been giving me is amazing, but it'll be great to have something like this again."

"Is all of it messy?"

"There's napkins."

"I don't think I've ever been to any place like this," Farlan noted quietly. "Am I out of touch or something? Last I checked, a wet bandana isn't something advisable to eat."

"Maybe times have changed?" Isabelle suggested. "Humans always have been a little strange."

"I doubt it's actually a bandana," Rivaille interjected. "Judging by the fact that the brat is choking on his laughter, I doubt that it's anything more than a name."

"You should either try the pork butt or the ribs."

"Leave it to the brat to drag us to the only place in the town which has pig ass on its menu."

Eren just rolled his eyes. "With how straight faced you always are, I can't tell when you're trying to be sarcastic."

The other opened his mouth to respond but before he could their waiter materialized on the scene. "Sorry about the wait. Do you all know what you-Eren, is that you?"

If he could have jumped into a well at that moment he probably would have. Of all the people that could have been on shift it had to be him. Of all the places they could have gone to eat, he'd chosen this one. "Oh, bloody-! Thomas? I-I forgot that you worked here."

The blonde only smiled in response. "With how long it's been since you've come in I'm not surprised. I haven't seen you since this time last year when you came in with Jean and the others."

"Yeah, well, the Hunters have certainly kept me busy." He replied, shifting nervously and suddenly hyperaware of every tiny tinkle of the bell that hung over the door. "They spoon feed us all the over glorified war stories in training to keep us from realizing how much work we're going to end up doing until we're out on the streets busting our asses tied up by our oaths. But I can't really complain; I'm good at what I do, after all."

"I can imagine, from what I remember of graduation night. Between you and Mikasa, I'm surprised there's any Vampires left." He turned his eyes to the others. "Did they assign you to a team? That's a surprise, I always figured you were a lone wolf; they look older."

"O-Oh, yeah. They're some of the 'elite' Hunters; you know, the superiors who don't want to be _superiors _and instead of being cooped up in the barracks dealing with our shit they deal with Vampires instead. I've been sent after an Ackerman and they figured I would need the help."

"Really? An Ackerman?" he looked shocked. "How has it gone?"

"Well, so far," Rivaille cut in trying to conceal a tiny snort, "it's been one hell of a fight, but I think the brat has got him by the balls."

"Well, that's a relief to hear; try and be safe, all of you. Now, can I take your orders?"

All four of them put in their orders and watched him walk away. Once he disappeared into the kitchen, the raven turned to the other with a raised eyebrow; Eren had sunk down in his chair and now had his hood pulled down over his eyes.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, why!" He all but moaned.

"Care to explain who that was, brat?" he asked, watching patiently as the brunet struggled to regain his lost composure.

"Thomas Wagner; he and I were in training together, but he ended up not making it through the final exam-when we're taken along on a hunt-he freaked out the first time he saw a real vampire up close and shut down; it was pretty clear that this wasn't the career for him." He explained. "I forgot that he worked here. I had to come up with an excuse on the spot to explain this all away, I'm really fucking sorry."

"An honest screw up, not an intentional risk, so there's no need for you to feel obligated to apologize." He told him. "How much contact does he have with your Hunter friends?"

"A minimal amount, which is why I felt safe enough to give him that story." His green eyes fell on the ice that filled his now empty cup, the dregs of fizz still clinging in places to the sides. "He's usually the type not to spill the things he's heard about other people unless he's specifically asked about it. The only ones who come in here with anything close to frequency are Horseface and Marco, so that's unlikely."

"It's probably best that we leave as quickly and discretely as possible." Farlan suggested.

"Yes, I think you're right." Rivaille agreed. "Eren, do your best to keep your eyes open for any more unexpected surprises before they pop up to bite us."

"I'll try."

Thomas returned from time to time to refill their drinks and make conversation, not seeming to realize that Eren was becoming more and more nervous with each successive time. The nervousness seemed to be forgotten, however, the moment that their food arrived; Isabelle was thoroughly amused by the fact that Farlan had been so curious about the reason for the name that he'd ordered the thing just to see if they would actually put a wet bandana on their sandwich. Rivaille had ordered the least messy of Eren's suggested options and was now attempting to maneuver his sandwhich without getting sauce on his fingers as the brunet dove into the two racks of baby back ribs on his plate with total abandon, ending up with reddish-brown sticky stuff all over his face and hands.

"Is there something about you that I don't know Yeager, because only a werewolf can eat that much meat that fast."

The teen just grinned, root beer foam imprinting a mustache on his face. "No one eats like Hunters do, aside from maybe fire fighters."

"Oh, have you all finished?" Looking up they found Thomas standing beside their table. "How was your food?"

"Well, it's not the best ass I've ever had," he said, shooting Eren a lewd look that made him blush bright red as he did so, "but it's a close second."

"Well, that's great to hear. Here's your check." Taking it, the raven slipped a platinum card in and handed it back. Returning after having run it, he handed it back with a smile. "Have a good day, and good luck."

"Thank you," they filed out, out of the bar and onto the streets outside. "We have about an hour left until the sun sets; let's check out some of the shops Isabelle wanted to look at before we head over to the pier."

"Yeah! Let's go, let's go!" Once again shrieking happily, Isabelle took off running towards the nearest store.

They'd lost them for a while in the sprawl of Rose but after a few hours desperate scramble had relocated the intrepid little group in a strip mall fooling around in the clothing department; Rivaille and Farlan were sitting in chairs seemingly in an attempt to separate themselves from the antics of the others two who had taken to making out a game of dress up out of the clothes that were for sale.

"You dragged me all the way to Rose so that we could watch them make total fools out of themselves? What does this prove?" Hitched hissed at him as they crouched behind a mannequin. "Reiss is going to _love _hearing about how we totally wasted our time!"

"We're not wasting time, Hitch." He replied back, trying his best to remain calm. "This in itself may be marginal at best, but something tells me that they won't be returning to Sina for at least a few hours more and if someone as careful as Rivialle is going to mess up it will be in a place where he doesn't think he will be seen. And if that is anywhere, it's here in Rose." His eyes refocused on the little group as the raven resigned himself to having a floppy hat being dropped on his head by a snickering brunet, where it promptly descended over his eyes. "He's already growing lax, and that 'Supplicant' is acting less and less like a broken servant by the moment!"

A few minutes later saw them leaving the store, continuing on to another and then another before finally heading out towards the pier. Passing quickly by an arcade-bar they headed deeper into the sea-side carnival. Ski ball was their first destination, Rivaille commencing a fiery negotiation with the man behind the booth.

"I'm sorry sir, we don't take 100 dollar bills; we don't carry that much change."

"Then don't give me change; keep it all and let the brat play until he gets bored!" This argument attracted the attention of a blonde young woman in a hunter uniform who muttered something along the lines of 'God-damn tourists' before continuing down the pier with her two male friends; one a burly blonde and the other an unfathomably tall raven. In the end Rivaille won the argument, much to the pleasure of his brown-haired shadow, and watched in amusement as the teen amused himself for close to an hour by sinking the balls in target after target and winning multiple prizes.

"How the hell did you manage that? Aren't those things supposed to be rigged?" Farlan asked as they finally left the booth behind.

"Simple; they taught us Knife throwing my second year in the academy, and Horse Face and I have a bit of a competitive complex. Contests over knife-throwing mastery lead to killer ski-ball skills."

"What are you going to do with all of that shit? I had no idea you had a thing for life-sized stuffed animals."

"I don't, but I'm a considerate person and figured either Isabelle or Petra would want them."

"Whatever, brat."

"Oh, look! They have rides! We should go on all of the rides guys!" Isabelle yelped on catching sight of the brightly lit carrousel and the rides beyond it.

"No," very flat and immediate dismissal.

"Don't look at me," Eren defended quickly, "I never have been one for rides."

Farlan sighed. "I'll take her. You two go and spend some alone time and get it all out of your systems, just meet us at the determined point in time."

"We may be a bit early but we won't be late, so don't be a neurotic shit." And with that Rivaille and Eren were left standing there as Isabelle dragged him away. Once they had disappeared from sight completely, Rivaille turned to his companion. "Shall we find somewhere where there are less people?"

"Sounds good to me," he agreed.

"There's a beach under the pier; no one goes down their unless they're looking for that kind of privacy, so it's unlikely that we'll be disturbed."

To this much he received a smirk. "Lead the way, brat."

"I don't believe it," Hitch muttered, looking shocked. "Less people? Privacy? If this is really what it think it is than we've got that Hail Mary you were hoping for."

"Not quite yet; he could argue that he wanted privacy to feed without causing a panic in the Humans and alerting the Hunters. We need more to prove this. Pictures. Video. But one thing is for sure, we can't lose sight of them!" They took off across the pier, darting around and pushing passed passers-by in an effort to keep sight of their targets. Bone dry sun bleached wooden planks gave way to sea oats and loose sand as they barreled down the slope just in time to see them vanish into the shadows. "Do you have your phone?"

"Yes, why?"

"That's why!" He snapped, pointing at the sight just visible within the shadows. "Film!"


	12. Shit Hits the Fan

_The shadows underneath the pier were deep and damp, the chill clinging to their skin and hair. Wind clattered amidst the sea oats cloaking the nearby sand dunes in an ever shifting carpet, the ocean crashed like distant thunder and above them was the constant passing of hundreds of feet. Eren blinked furiously, struggling to see in the dim light while in contrast Rivaille's eyes glowed like those of an animal. The soft, damp sand gave beneath his weight as he was pushed gently down onto it and cold lips descended on his neck the swift pass of an icy tongue softening the skin before fangs pierced flesh and blood blossomed like a rose across his skin. He'd grown used to it by now to the point where it was almost comforting; the stinging kiss was something welcomed as his life blood fueled them both. Tan fingers combed through coal colored hair as the other drank, one powerful hand at the small of his back and the other cupping the back of his neck to support his head until a light shaking overtook his form and his breaths began to become labored. Bloodstained lips found their way to his in an effort to coax them apart, but Eren gently reached up to stop him._

_ "Wait. We could be seen." The other drew back to look at him with the faintest echo of annoyance._

_ "You're the one who said that this was fucking private, brat."_

_ "It is, but that's not what I meant and I think you know that." He sighed, moving the stand up. "I know that we've relaxed to night, but everything up to now can be explained away with little difficulty if need be. But if they see that, then everything we've done, all of the precautions that we've taken and the sacrifices that we have made, will be for nothing."_

_ "In Sina, that would have been a valid argument but even Reiss' hounds aren't dumb enough to follow us into Rose nor savvy enough to avoid getting knifed in ten seconds flat if they did! Sit your ass down, brat!" Gently catching hold of his wrist, he tugged it imploringly and managed to pull him back onto the sand. "We're safe, Eren. Trust me."_

_ "I do trust you, but I also know that this is a really bad idea." But Rivaille was having none of it and another kiss was soon pressed against him; reluctantly Eren pushed his caution aside and kissed him back. Fingers running through his hair down the contours of his face and across broad shoulders, stopping at his collar to pull the faded T-shirt that by some miracle he'd found buried somewhere in the abyssal depths of the antique dresser in his room. Feather light kisses dusted the slopes and valleys of his muscles and chilled breath left fire trails across his skin as the brunet stuffed his fist in his mouth to stifle a mewl._

_ "Hush brat, someone is bound to hear you." Deft fingers fumbled with a moment before succeeding in popping the button on his jeans. "We don't have all that long so we'll have to settle for the basics for now."_

The screen paused, frozen on the incriminating image, the remote placed with a resounding finality down upon the table before a sea of eyes glazed over by shock.

"This un-doctored footage was taken last night in Rose City. Dark as it is, poor quality as it admittedly is, it goes on to show the truth of how deep his relationship with Eren Jӓger-Human and Hunter-really is. I've spared you the details believe me but that matters little, it's entirely clear now what my Nephew would have us do." Whispers started flying the moment he stopped talking and fangs flashed in the low light as Kenny smirked. "Yes, it's true. Rivaille would have us welcome the Turned Ones into society as our brethren, submit to the Hunters and dilute our line with mortal blood. All that we have built, all that we have fought for, he would see undone! Even knowing that, would you continue to remain on his side?"

"No! No, of course not!"

"That would be supporting the destruction of our way of life? The extinction of our race!"

"Blasphemy!"

"Rivaille has shown himself to be weak! Pure of Blood? After this, we can't even consider him a Vampire at all! He's worse than a half-breed!"

"What are you going to do about this, Kenny?"

"There's no need for any of you to worry yourselves," he assured. "Rivaille, his precious Human, his two supports and their covens are being taken care of at this very moment. By morning, nothing will of remain of this threat to our way but a pile of ash!"

How it had happened he didn't really know, but somehow he'd allowed himself to be coaxed into drinking. A little bit of wine had soon transformed into two full bottles as the raven kept refilling his glass in an effort to get him to relax and convince him that the bad feeling which had stolen over him since the night before was no more than a product of his imagination and soon enough Eren had been put into an alcohol induced drowse which had lead him to turn in early to sleep it off. He'd passed out fairly quickly and slept comfortably, but was awoken a few hours later by a bright orange light shining underneath his bedroom door.

_Who left a light on?_ He wondered sleepily, sitting up. _I should probably go turn it off; otherwise I won't be getting any sleep no matter how tired I am._ Pulling himself out of bed, Eren walked to the door and opened it only to stop in confusion. Flickering orange light, the air hot and thick with smoke that stung his eyes. _Oh, the light isn't on. The house is just on fire. _A moment further of drunken contentment before situation-induced sobriety smashed him on the head. _THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!? _The smoke was choking him already, filling the air though the flames as of yet remained on the lower floor. Through the scent of burning wood and furniture he could smell something else; gasoline. This wasn't an accidental fire, it was an arson! "RIVAILLE! ISABELLE! FARLAN! EVERYONE, WAKE UP!" Grabbing the door knob in a white knuckled grip he yanked open the door and barreled inside with the smoke following behind him, coughing and spluttering. Awoken rather rudely, the raven blinked up at him hawkishly from beneath the sheets in a silent demand that he explain himself. "F-Fi-Fire!"

"Fuck!" Sheets flew in one direction and pillows in the other as he dove out of bed. "They saw us after all, then? Eren, where are the others?"

"We're awake, don't worry; all of the screaming he did running through the halls woke us up." Farlan stood in the doorway with the others behind him. "We're not getting out through the doors; the stairs have gone up and the entire first floor is in flames."

"The window, then."

"But that's a two story drop Levi! I'll break my legs!"

"Would you rather burn to a crisp, brat?" he demanded, quicksilver eyes flashing. "I'll go first and catch you if it'll make you feel better about it, but we have to get out of here or all of us are ass-fucked!" The window seemed to be resistant, but opened after a few attempts were made. The raven clambered up onto the sill and crouched there a moment before taking a graceful leap and disappearing into the darkness of the night. The others followed, leaping without hesitation to land on the grass below until Eren was the only one left. He'd never been one to be afraid of heights and had taken even greater leaps of faith before but it was different without the sturdy cables of his 3D maneuver gear to catch him. As he stood at the window he just froze up. Hands shaking. Heart pounding. "Eren! You have to jump!"

"I can't!" Strange to think that slowly burning to death wasn't nearly as terrifying as a drop that would barely last a second, and yet his legs were far more willing to retreat backwards towards the blistering orange flames than clamber into the open air. "Eren!" Again the other's voice cut through the inferno's roar. "Just jump, I won't let you hit the ground! Trust me!" Trust him. He trusted him, of course he did! Trusted the other with his life every time he fed. He'd never once proven himself to be unworthy of that trust. Taking a deep breath and squeezing his green eyes shut, he forced his legs to move across the room and launched himself into the cold air outside the window. For a moment it seemed as if gravity had deserted him and he hung there for the space of a single heart beat before he was dragged back down to earth and a pair of strong familiar arms caught him around his waist to stop his fall. Eren immediately hid his face in the side of Levi's neck, only then realizing that he was shaking. "Can you walk?" Recovering a moment longer, he nodded. "Good; we've no idea if they're still around. We need to get out of here and hide."

"But where the hell could we go where your Uncle won't be able to find us? He has eyes everywhere outside of the underground!"

"Then we go to the Underground. By this point, we don't have much choice."

"Are you sure that that's a good idea?" It was Eld who spoke up this time, wincing against the bright light and billowing smoke that the burning house was emitting. "I know that you always intended to begin negotiations with the Turned and that was all well and good when your plan took into account that the full strength of the M.P. was behind you, but with only circa 10 of us it's suicide to go down there."

"It's true that we won't be received well, I'm not denying that, but like you said it always was a step in my plan." Most of his attention at that moment was directed at insuring that the terrified and still tipsy Eren remained upright now that he'd put him down, but he still managed to cast him a glance. "We have to our advantage that they'll assume we perished in that fire, but that is scant protection at best and won't last forever; Kenny is many things but stupid is not one of them. Violence is now the only option left to us if we are to ever hope to achieve our vision of change, but a Revolution needs troops to carry it through and mobilizing the Turned would give us just that."

"But how likely are they to help us?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10, it's probably be a -5 but we're out of options. Let's get going." It was on foot that they hurried through the pitch black streets in the hour between the night and morning, swift to avoid the rare headlights and remain unseen. Finally reaching an abandoned alleyway, the raven displaced a large manhole cover and ushered them over. "This is the entrance to the tunnels. The Turned use to sewers and storm drains beneath Maria, Sina and Rose as a system of roads and highways and that means every single one of them eventually lead to the Under City. Stay close and keep an eye out; odds are that they will know of our presence long before we know of theirs."

The rusty rungs of the ladder were slick with condensed water droplets and cold to the touch, the tunnels below almost pitch black. The raised walkways to either side of the depressed stream were made of a dismal grey concrete, flanking a veritable river of water which had run off from the streets above in the recent rains and melted snow. Eren's eyes immediately fell on the dim, ghostly shapes littering the area about their feet; bending to pick one of the things up, he lifted it to his face for closer examination. It was a skull, his fingers fitting securely in the empty eye sockets just as they would have into the grip holes on a bowling ball, the milk white fangs set into the upper jaw clearly present.

"Aagh!" Yelping in fright, he flung it away only to have it land in the water with a distant sounding splash. "P-Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was!"

Levi's hand descended on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I wish that I could, but hiding the truth from you would achieve nothing." He said quietly. "I'm sure that they told you in your training about the Legion and the uprising that took place in the 1300s which first lead to the exile of the Turned? They told you that we refer to these tunnels as the underground. That the Turned live here in peace and are unbothered by us as long as they remain in their place. All of that is true. …But there's something about these tunnels that your Order doesn't know. We have another name for it; the Pure Blood graveyard. Throwing our criminals to the mercy of the Turned is the reigning form of capital punishment beneath my Uncle's rule. Even so long after the war has come to an end, they still hate us because of what we did to them."

"Then why are we down here? This is unsafe!"

"With how hostile the streets above have become, is that really true?" he questioned. "We've miles of tunnels to cover and not much time. We'd best start looking."


	13. Honored

**This is kind of a 'filler' chapter focusing on the idea of ''meanwhile, the Hunters…''. Sort of relevant to the story as it shows their view but also at the same time it can be skipped without making it too confusing.**

It was early morning when she was awoken by someone gently shaking her shoulders. Cracking open one eye she sleepily blinked up at whoever was responsible to find Krista standing at her bedside looking down at her apologetically.

"The Commander wants to see you; he said that it was a matter of urgency unable to wait for a more reasonable time." She informed the ravenette quietly, watching as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the back of one hand.

"Thank you, Krista. I'll go to see him in his office in a moment, I need to change into my uniform." Outside of a sudden vampire attack on the barracks there was no way in the nine circles of hell that she was walking through the halls in her nightgown, let alone to see her superior at ungodly o'clock in the morning; pushing he exhaustion aside Mikasa scrambled to change back into her uniform before tearing off down the darkened quiet hallways with nervousness fluttering in her chest like a caged bird. What had happened? Had she done something wrong without realizing it? Had the political powder keg Sina had become finally exploded, in which case was she being sent to address it? Or did it concern her brother? Stopping at the door momentarily, she steeled herself before reaching out to knock.

"Get in here, Ackerman." The words were as harsh and sharp as usual but the tone was not, and that sent off red flags immediately. It was about Eren, she was now sure of it. Something horrible must have happened to him, just as she'd feared it would. Her hands were shaking as she opened the door and stepped into the office beyond. "A few days ago the two or you returned from being sent into Sina without Mr. Jӓger?"

Mikasa nodded, swallowing thickly around the lump that had formed in her throat. "Yes, Sir. He refused to see reason and return with us as he saw a chance to use the political tension between Rivaille and Kenny to put an end to their line-and their society-once and for all. We tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen." A pause. "Sir, did something happen?"

Her superior made a point of setting his pen carefully down on the top of the desk before answering. "Earlier this morning M.P. assassins burned Rivaille Ackerman's estate house to the ground. To our knowledge, everyone inside was killed." Killed? No. No! Her brother was all that she had left in the world! His familiar voice, his laugh that was almost always infectious, his playful teasing complains of what he had termed her 'overprotective nagging'; his oceanic eyes, oddly hued in a manner she had never seen and so expressive of his every emotion, capable of making him look unbelievably naïve and innocent or to convey the dogged determination or something crawled up from Hell; his short dark hair, brown in some light and black in others, unruly and sticking up in all directions in a manner that was impossible to tame. All of it gone forever. Burned away by ravenous flames. The fear he must have felt in his final moments. Blank. White with shock. She bit down on her lip to hold in all of the emotion that wanted to burst forth in a tide and was soon tasting blood. "There was nothing left of the manor, or of its inhabitants. There is no body to set to rest, but a funeral will still be held at dusk. You're excused from duty for the remainder of the next week; use that time to mourn."

"Thank you, Sir." She almost didn't hear it when he dismissed her, her world collapsing down atop her. The numbness was receding into a soul-sucking sorrow; her heart felt as if it had been rent in half. By the time she had made it back to the dorms she could hold it off no longer; her knees hit the floor with a loud thud and the tears began to fall, ripping free with sobs that wracked her frame. Sheets rustled and springs creaked as a light flickered on; footsteps on the wooden floor around her as her dorm mates, disturbed from their sleep by the racket she had made, got up.

"Mikasa?"

"What happened?"

Nothing could be achieved from hiding it aside from putting off the inevitable slew of half-hearted 'I'm sorry's which only made it worse and the lies of 'I know how you feel' which slipped passed gritted teeth. In the grand scheme of things her brother had been just another soldier, just another friend, dead in the line of duty. Nothing but a statistic, a nameless faceless number, and it was that knowledge that cut the deepest. If she could only get the words out through the tears which had locked her in a strangle hold. "I-It's Eren; he's dead." The others simply stared at her in open, wordless shock. Eren, their friend, the constant stubborn presence emboldening their efforts with incessant conviction-filled statements towards the eventual eradication of their perineal enemies, the bold one, the raucous one who, with the help of his rival Jean, was always causing some sort of disturbance in the usual half-peace, who was always training in raid or snow or sunshine, striving to be better and then the best. Gone. It didn't make sense to any of them how someone so bright and full of life as him could be in one moment snuffed out like a lone candle in a stiff chilling wind. Reckless as he was, he'd always seemed invincible. "They're holding the funeral at dusk but there's no body; he's already been reduced to nothing but ashes!"

"Do the boys know yet?" Annie's voice was as measured as ever, her face impassive, but the shadows in her grey eyes revealed her to be just as affected by the tragic news as everyone else. She always had considered him far too driven for his own good, but they had been similar in many ways and since their training days had always carried a healthy respect for each other. "Did he call Armin as well, or was it just you? Just his family?"

"He wasn't there when I was, so I assume that he isn't yet aware of what happened. All the same, I'm not sure."

"They'll know soon enough," Ymir noted grimly. "It won't be kept a secret; they're bound to announce what happened at breakfast, especially considering the credit for Ackerman's accompanied death with likely be accredited to him."

"That's true."

"It ought to be; he certainly deserves it, given all he must have gone through and the fact that he didn't make it out."

"Hey guys, since breakfast is in an hour how about we go and wait in the mess hall?" Though likely motivated by a desire for food considering it had been made by Sasha, the others agreed; it would be better than going back to sleep, knowing that doing so would be leaving their friend to be swallowed up by the abyss of her own thoughts.

"Come on then, let's go down and wait for the boys."

None of them were entirely sure why, but the bed where Eren had once slept seemed starkly more empty when they had gotten up that morning that it had in previous months. The sheets made, pillows untouched, personal belongings all in their respective places sitting and gathering dust. They all stared at it for a while, sitting on the edges of their beds or standing scattered about the dorm in the process of getting ready for the day ahead. All of them just staring. Staring in silence.

"Am I the only one who thinks…?" Marco trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind, it's stupid of me to say."

"That his bed seems empty? More empty than usual?" Surprisingly it was Reiner who had spoken up to finish the statement that the other had left unspoken. "Yeah, it does."

"This is ridiculous, all of us just standing here staring at the damn bed as if it's sprouted fangs! Do you guys miss him or something?" Jean grumbled angrily, straightening his shirt. "I, for one, am grateful for the extended break we've had from all of his shit! I hope he stays gone!"

"You don't mean that, Jean." The raven said quietly. "If you wish ill on him and something does happen how would you feel? Now, Armin has already left for breakfast; we should follow his example before we end up late and the food gets cold." Finishing getting ready quickly they followed out of the dorm room and hurried into the mess hall. For the most part the enormous room seemed normal at first glance, aside from the superior's table at the front of the room standing entirely empty, the total silence of the girls of their unit as they sat huddled together in the corner and the look of shock on Armin's face as he stood beside Mikasa who looked miserable and was sitting hunched over the table with tear tracks etched on her face and dark shadows under her eyes.

"Who the hell keeled over and died?"

"_Shut up, Horseface!_" Ymir snapped at him immediately as Mikasa flinched. "The fact that you even think saying that could be funny just goes to show that you've had your head up your ass for the past five hours!"

"What is wrong with you? There isn't any need to go and bite my head off!"

"Jean, enough!" Marco grabbed his friend's arm in an effort to both hold him back and calm him down before turning his attention to the scowling brunet sitting across the table. "What happened?"

"You'll find out. They're going to make the announcement by the end of breakfast." She refused to say anything more, leaving the new comers no choice but to accept the silence as answer and sit down. Breakfast passed in silence, the girls not speaking and the boys not sure if anything should be said while Armin-who, judging by his expression, had been informed of whatever circumstances had reduced their table to an island of silence amidst the usual storm of commotion surrounding them on all sides-stared despondently into his bowl. The echolalia finally died down only when their superior officers finally entered into the room and lined up in front of the room to speak.

"The Military Police, our perennial enemy, has of late dissolved into a state of political divide with the current leader of the Vampire's on one side and his would be usurper on the other. Blood has been spilled on both sides, but last night all of the infighting came to an end; the estate of Le Ѐquarrisseur was razed to the ground and, tragically, one of our own was killed along with the coven he'd been sent to infiltrate and destroy. Unfortunate though it is that there is no body left to be recovered, Eren Jӓger will be given the sendoff worthy of the warrior he was at dusk this evening. We ask that all of you attend to honor the memory of our fallen brother, whose dedication to our cause will never be forgotten."

The silence of the girls, the misery on Mikasa's face, despondency of Armin, even the weird feeling that all of them had received when they had looked over at the bunk where he had slept. It all made sense now. Eren really was never coming back.

"Dusk, then?" Reiner was the first of their group to speak as all the while whispers from the hundreds of others occupying the room flew through the air like bullets about their heads, his deep calm voice cutting through the instability which had so suddenly afflicted the little group which had now decreased by one.

"Yes," her voice was more brittle than any of them had ever heard it, her grey eyes riveted on the table top as intently as if the secrets of the universe itself were written there. "Dusk tonight, just like they said."

"I'm sure that you've heard it more than you want to already, and I know that it won't help in the slightest because nothing anyone can say will ever bring Eren back, but I'm sorry for your loss Mikasa." Marco said, skirting the edge of the table to sit beside her with sympathy and concern etched across his freckled face. "It will never go away, but time will make it better. And you have to keep in mind that you will see him again, at the end of the road."

"Maybe I will, but maybe Eren was right. Maybe he was right and there was nothing left beyond this life but death."

"Don't say that, you know it isn't true!" Krista chided gently from her other side, squeezing her friend's arm.

"It helped to talk about it, when I lost my parents." Marco suggested, grimacing slightly in guilt when the other's red rimmed eyes turned back onto him. "So I think that an hour or two before the funeral we should all go back up to the dorms and talk about Eren. Share memories and what we'll miss most about him."

"That sounds like a good idea, Marco." The blonde agreed, her blue eyes never leaving the other's blank face. "Dusk is at about 4pm so how about we all meet up at the boy's dorm at around 3? That will give us all almost a whole day to think about the memory we want to share the most." Agreement was reached and from their they parted ways to go about their daily business-by it chores, training or whatever else-until close to 3 when they all met back at the closed door of the dorm.

"Everyone's here?"

"No, we're waiting on Mikasa."

"Well instead of waiting outside let's go in already and sit down before someone else comes along and sees us crowding around the door like a bunch of idiots!"

"Overdramatic much, Horseface?" but the door was opened with a quiet click and they all filed inside but what they saw made them stop almost immediately. Curled up fast asleep in Eren's bed, crushing the pillow he had slept on to her chest and with the red scarf he had given her all those years before clutched in her hand like a security blanket, was Mikasa.

"Looks like we aren't waiting on anybody after all." Annie said, stepping up to the bed to gently rouse her; within a few moments she was sitting up and blinking blearily around the room at them. "Shall we begin, then? We only have so much time."

"Yeah," Armin said as he crossed to room to join the other on the bed. "We should start so that we have enough time to get to everyone at least once."

"You and Mikasa should start since the two of you are the ones who knew him best."

The blonde looked over at Mikasa but she shook her head and hugged the pillow tighter so, with a sigh, he kicked the sharing off. "The first time that I met Eren was when I was in the 1st grade after his family had moved to America from Berlin. I'd always been smarter than the majority of my peers, but at that age I didn't know when not to make that plain and, well, children can be cruel to anything that is different than they are. He'd just transferred into my class that day, we'd spoken maybe once, briefly, and in the beginning I thought he would turn out to be just another brute; he was way too headstrong to be a sheep, like most of the class, like most people, and so I figured that he'd be a wolf. But I was wrong, Eren wasn't a wolf he was a sheep dog; a protector. On my way home a group of 5th graders dragged me into some alley way to beat me up, I'd just been thrown against a wall when Eren came tearing around the corner in a 4'2" ball of brown hair and fury. Those bullies cut out as fast as they could, and from that day forwards he stood by me, protected me, and soon enough we were all but family. To think that he's gone…I'd always assumed that, of the three of us, the first to go would be me."

"Jӓger and I never got along, as you're all very well aware. I didn't like him and I still don't but that doesn't mean I'm thrilled that he's dead." Jean muttered from where he was leaning against the wall. "I don't have a 'favorite memory' of him, but…in a weird way I'll miss fighting with him. He was an ass but his was a strong presence, and now that he's gone the barracks just doesn't feel the same."

"Eren was a good friend and a good man, though I wish he'd have consented to going out drinking with the three of us at least once. Though, I suppose, his adherence to law was something to be admired." Reiner said, shaking his head with a heavy sigh. "What do you all say to going down to the pier after the funeral and sharing a stein or two in his honor?"

"Special circumstances so I don't see a problem with it," a chorus of agreements followed. "And I think that it'll be good for Mikasa to get out for a little bit."

More memories were shared-Annie remarking on the rather reluctant beginnings of the respect that she had built for Eren over the course of their training days; Connie sharing how he'd miss the other's willingness to lend an ear even in circumstances where most would simply have told him to quiet down; Sasha remembering his almost nightly willingness to share his food with her when she asked. Soon enough dusk had arrived and the 104th were forced to leave the dorm behind in order to keep their appointment with the final sendoff of one of their own. The setting sun had lit the sky aflame with hues of red and gold and on top of the hill just outside the city, five minutes travel on foot from the barracks, a pyre had been erected with a closed white coffin wreathed in sweet smelling mourning flowers resting on top of it. After all of the deaths that the order had already suffered through the years, the grim words spoken in the ceremony were familiar to them all but she barely heard them through the numb haze which had settled over the city. The torch was brought forward and the dry wood and green flowers were set ablaze, the funeral pyre left to burn brightly as the darkness swallowed the day. The others had to all but drag her away from the barracks to the bar at the pier where she sat in the booth with her cup untouched as the others drank their way through one, then two, then three full steins. Some tipsy. Some drunk. The air in the dark bar was heavy and stale; unable to take it anymore, she got up from the table and walked out onto the pier outside in an effort to catch a breath of fresh air. In that late hour the full moon had fully risen and she stared up at the silvery orb sadly.

_Eren._ She couldn't do anything more for him now, but vengeance on his murderers could still be taken for herself, _I promise you, they won't get away with this._


	14. Rogue

He wasn't sure exactly how long it was that they'd been down there in those dank dark tunnels but what was surely only a few days felt instead like weeks. Even they, with their superior vision, could barely see and total blindness on Eren's part was making the boy uneasy. Shifting into a slightly more comfortable position on the cold concrete ground, he nestled closer into the warmth of the sleeping form beside him and forced his eyes closed yet again. Still sleep eluded him as the distant dripping of water rang out through the tunnels. From time to time he would sense eyes on them or even catch the occasional glimpse of a darting shadow to make his hackles rise but their numbers had been enough to keep whatever was lurking out there in the dark at bay. Now that the rest had gone to scout ahead he was left alone to fend for the both of them, and was well aware that the moment he slept they'd close in for the kill so he would wait and keep watch until the others returned. A quiet shuffle from off in the darkness had him sitting up straight glaring around in a futile effort to see through the blackness. "I swear to God if one of you little shits are trying to pull some sort of dumbass prank so help me!" But deep down he knew that they knew better than to toy with him in such a way, especially where the safety of the brunet was also involved. Looking once again down at his sleeping companion he carefully got to his feet so as to avoid disturbing him before hesitantly proceeding into the solid wall of darkness surrounding them on all sides. Blackness and the faint shape of the walkway were all that he could see and even while straining his ears all he could pick up on was the near constant maddening drip of water. Another quite shuffled had him whirling around with teeth bared in a threatening snarl; despite his skill, despite his strength, despite his cunning total sensory black out left him entirely helpless and as that reality dawned on him true fear blossomed inside him for the first time since he was a young child. Where were they? How many were there? Shuffling and hissing seemed to come from all directions, reducing the raven to pivoting in circles in a desperate effort to pin down numbers and locations until, just as suddenly as they had started, the noises stopped. All he could hear was the thunderous pounding of his own heart beat and ragged breathing. Were they gone? There was no way of knowing for sure, but he had to get back to Eren and keep them both safe until the rest of them returned. Peeling himself away from the slimy wall after another few moment's hesitation Rivaille looked around once again before starting back towards where he'd left his companion only to have something barrel into his exposed back with a murderous shriek and send them both crashing into the tepid ten foot stream of water running through the drain beneath the city. A yelp of shock was drowned as the black water rushed down his throat to fill his lungs, not as much of a pressing problem at the moment as the owner of the razor fangs rending his flesh was. Pain. Blood. Struggling to reach his throat from behind and tear it out. Damn himself for being only 5'3", his attacker seemed to be twice that if his strength was anything to go by. Rivaille thrashed uselessly in the water, managing to break free after a few moments and make a desperate bid for the surface. Wet hair plastered to his face, water running into his eyes, coughing and choking on air as shaking hands found purchase on the concrete lip of the stream; his attacker ceased hold of him again just as he was clambering out, pulling his feet out from underneath him and knocking what little breath he'd managed to regain free as claws searched fruitlessly for purchase on the small pavement until his head went under once again. Warm, familiar hands grabbed hold of him at the very last possible moment, wrenching him free of the abyss below and up onto dry land before dragging him against the wall a safe distance from the water's edge. "Eren!" His familiar profile etched against the shadows filling the underground drain, his scent and warmth and the barely detectable gleam of the knife in his hand.

"What happened?" he demanded as the other struggled to compose himself, still gasping for air and with mortal terror still surging through him but the answer had dragged itself out of the drink as well to leer menacingly at them before he could with eyes glowing ferally in the darkness. He couldn't make out the boy's face, but from the sound of his voice understanding had dawned on him. "Oh, so they've found us have they?"

"There's more than one of them; be careful Eren!"

"This is what I'm trained for; as one of the top ten I can handle myself." He could easily imagine the cocky smile on his face as he slid into a fighting stance with his weight low down and evenly distributed on both feet. "This will give you a chance to see me in action."

"Don't get cocky brat; I'm blind as a bat down here and with these injuries I won't be of much use if you do end up needing help." Blood had already begun to stain the puddle of water forming around him red but it seemed that the hunter wouldn't need his help. Considering what he was, superior senses were an advantage he had come to rely on and so, once deprived of them, was left all but defenseless but a human like Eren was used to the opposite and as such fighting blind granted him the advantage instead. Their much larger attacker was taken by surprise by the brunet who was far sprier on his feet and was able to dodge around his every strike to get in under his defenses with the 4-inch blade and within short order the assailant gave up and limped off to lick his wounds. For his part Eren was panting, adrenaline whizzing through him as he trotted back to the other's side before bending to place his hands on his knees.

"I think I need to get back into the habit of hitting the gym; I'm out of shape."

"I think the bastard you just fought off with a 4 inch box cutter would disagree with you." Rivaille replied tartly, forcing his battered body to its feet. "The others will be back soon. We should go back to wait for them."

"You're hurt," a quiet observation made in a soft voice, a hand reaching out to somehow find his arm through the darkness and feeling the ripped fabric and torn skin.

"They'll heal on their own brat; a few scrapes and bruises but nothing serious."

"They'd heal faster if you fed."

"That's true, but doing so runs the risk of attracting more of them."

"Well we'll just wait until the others get back, then. But I really think you should. I don't like knowing that you're sitting her hurt and in pain when there's something I can do to make it better."

"You shouldn't always feel the need to take the burdens of others onto your own shoulders, Eren."

To this much the brunet just sighed, sliding down along the slimy wall to rest his head against the other's shoulder. "I don't feel the need to take everyone's burdens onto my own shoulders, just yours; part of a couple's mutual obligation to each other is to take up a portion of the other's sorrows and pain to make life a little easier for the one they love and to help them forget their troubles."

"You're a hopeless romantic." He state bluntly, resting his chin on top of the others head and closing his eyes. By the time the others finally did return, the two had fallen asleep tangled in each other's arms.

"They still haven't done anything about the recent Pure Blood incursion into our tunnels? They've all gone lax in Erwin's long absence; what the hell are they all planning to do, wait until they stumble on the city?"

"I don't think it's entirely fair to say that Mike, there's somewhere close to twenty of them according to reports. It seems less like they were banished and more like they fled here to seek refuge."

"And why would you assume that, Moblit?"

"I get it that we live underground but have you had your head buried in the sand for the past few weeks, Zacharius? How can you not know about what's been going on with them? The Ackermans are at each other like wild dogs and the entire M.P. is in danger of collapsing."

"What the hell does that have to do with a pack of the bastards being down here?"

"Why are you so ridiculously unreasonable?"

"That's enough, both of you. Stop fighting."

"But !"

"We have better things with which to concern ourselves and you both are well aware of that; little arguments like that one will lead to fighting and soon enough we'll be snapping and snarling at each other just like the Pure Bloods always are." She chided without once turning away from the flask of chemicals she'd been tinkering with for the past hour. "Some of the cleaners went to see about dealing with them about an hour ago and-oh look, there he is now!" Out of breath from running and covered in cuts and bruises the man stumbled almost drunkenly into the room. "What happened?"

"Hunter."

With that Mike slammed his hands down on the table and leapt to his feet, startling Moblit into nearly toppling out of his own. "A hunter? This is exactly what I'm referring to when I call them incompetent; what the hell was he doing on the surface in Rose?"

A low growl escaped the burly man in reply. "I wasn't on the surface the hunter was in the tunnels; he came to the aid of Ackerman's whelp!"

"Really?" the fact that Hanji had now forgotten whatever experiment she'd been working on completely was telling to her interest. "A relationship of any sort of a Pure Blood and a human is rare enough, but an Ackerman and a member of the Hunter Sect? Something more is definitely going on here; I think that Rivaille and I need to have a friendly chat."

The others had returned a few hours after the attack to find their leader bruised, bloodied and fast asleep curled protectively around the slighter taller brunet. Only after being hurriedly woken up and bombarded with questions did the raven finally agree to take the avenue by which his wounds would heal the fastest before the entire party lead a rather woozy Eren back up to the surface so that he could finally get something to eat for the first time in days. It was once they returned that they were met with a most unwelcome sight; their little makeshift camp of sorts was swarming with Turned who were no longer bothering with the cover of the shadows. By the time they were even close enough to see them they themselves had already been spotted.

"Shit," Rivaille hissed, hackles rising as Eren, beside him, drew his knife.

"What I wouldn't give to have my full gear right now; a pair of full length sword would make this so much easier!"

The other snorted at that. "Considering that, on the night we met, you were unruffled at the prospect of infiltrating a club house full of Pure Bloods to make an attempt on my life armed with nothing but a glorified splinter I think you'll be fine with that knife."

One of the Turned was advancing slowly towards them now, a woman with enormous and badly smudged glasses who had her hands raised in a placating gesture; Rivaille allowed her to approach but the moment that he got too close to Eren for his liking her allowed a feral snarl to rip passed his lips. Not wanting to push him into feeling threatened, she stopped but kept her eyes curiously on the other. "To what do we owe the pleasure of having an Ackerman grace our tunnels? And who is this adorable little thing?"

"Is this an attack, or are you inviting us to sit down for fucking tea and crumpets?"

"Neither; all this is, is a friendly talk."

"Because everyone agrees that a conversation which is all in good fun requires an army of mooks."

"A precaution; we aren't aware of what it is you seek to gain by being down here, but we're well aware of your reputation."

"Mmm, so you say."

"It's the truth. Honest."

"Levi," Eren said, relaxing somewhat and resting a hand on the other's arm. "I think that we should believe her, at least for now. We need their help."

Rivaille looked at him for a moment before relenting with a small nod. "Very well, glasses. Spill it, what is it that you wanted to 'talk' with us about?"

"We've all heard at least a bit about what has been going on up in Sina; about your little spat with your Uncle over a Supplicant and your sudden supposed interest in the extension of civil rights extending beyond the Pure Blood lines."

"The whole Supplicant angle was just an act; if they'd known the truth they'd have killed me." Eren cut in. "The fact that they discovered that truth is the reason that we're down here; they burned the manor to the ground and now we have no home. Our political alliance is in shambles. If there is any hope left of unseating Kenny it will be throw revolution, and the only way that will happen is through your help. Even if I were to somehow manage to convince the other hunters to go my way I'd only be able to play the pied piper for so longer before they would turn on me. Please, help us if not for our sake then for yours."

"Well, if you want our help you're going to have to do something for us first sweet pea; a task that will both strengthen our ability to help you and prove you've no intention of betraying us once this is all over."

"A task?" he repeated as the raven emitted a dry hiss. "What sort of task?"

"Erwin Smith, our leader, was one of the greatest threats to Kenny's rule that the Night World has ever known; born of a Pure Blood father and a Human mother, he was a half-blood of considerable power. Our rebellion, which he lead, nearly wiped the M.P. off the map though the histories have been doctored to say otherwise. He was captured and imprisoned after our rebellion was finally put down and has been held in a cell at the top of the Tower of Althalaxx for the past 800 years. Free him, and you'll have the help you need."

"So you want us to break into this prison tower and free your leader?" Rivaille questioned warily. "There must be some manner of catch here; if it were as easy a task to pull off as our small number would suggest then you would have done it a long time ago."

"The tower is well guarded and booby trapped from top to bottom, but that isn't why we've never tried." She informed them. "Only the Hand of Raziel, soaked in the blood of a Human Vampire Hunter, can open the door."

"We'll set him free, you have our word." Eren promised before the others could even attempt to speak.

"Good. We'll expect to hear from you soon enough." And just like that they were gone, vanished into the darkness like so many ghosts.

"Brat," the other growled, rounding on him. "What the hell did you just agree to? Is there some sort of Hunter ritual in which your order summons angels?"

"No, there isn't. But it's unlikely that that is what she meant; not the hand of Raziel, but the Hand of Raziel." Receiving more of the same blank stares he sighed. "'And so armed with the gift of Heaven, the Hand of Raziel, the Warriors of Light saw to it that those in their order who fell into the darkness could be absolved of their sins by bowing their heads to the blade.' I knew that she must have meant the sword and not literally the Angel's hand when she said 'soaked in Hunter's blood'."

"So your order worships a sword? No wonder you gave up on religion, that's fucking ridiculous."

"That isn't what is mean by 'bowing their heads to the blade', Rivaille. Not worship, decapitation; the Hand of Raziel is only taken out of its warded case to execute Hunters who have committed treason."

A beat of shock silence followed as the others were left to process his words. "How the hell are we going to get out hands on a warded…God damn it Eren, tell me you're not planning on using yourself as bait!"

"We don't rely have a choice," he replied calmly. "We'll work it out that you'll be there to put a stop to the execution, so I won't be in any real danger."

"And what if something goes wrong?" Farlan's rational voice cut through the raven's mild panic over the prospect of the brunet's almost suicidal plan.

"We need their help if we're going to survive; this is the only way. Nothing will go wrong, but if it does…I suppose it would be a necessary sacrifice on my part." Unflappable even at the prospect of potential death, typical hunter.

"You're really sure about this?" by now he knew the truth that once Eren was set on something there was nothing that could sway him so rather than arguing he'd do better with his time to go along with things and do his best to keep him safe.

The teen nodded with conviction. "Now, the simplest thing would be to walk into the barracks at Rose and say 'hey guys, I'm fucking an Ackerman' but that's probably end up with me locked up in a white room for the rest of my life and that would be no help to anyone. And though I know we only have so much time I'd like to make at least a little bit of a game out of toying with them, seeing as our only option is to do so."

"And you have a plan for that as well?"

"A loose one; I'll make my way back to the barracks in another month or so-you'll have to knock me around a bit for the story I'm going to use to look legit-but first I'm going to cause a little bit of carnage and to do that I'll need to steal some gear. There are a number of staged supply depots throughout Rose, I'll pick something up to disguise myself with on the way to the nearest one while you all arrange for a hotel room or some other form of temporary residence in the city. I'll keep in contact with you all as much as possible."

She'd been left alone for the better part of the last few days aside from the occasional attempt by one of the others to speak to her or rouse her from the languidity of melancholy which she'd fallen into since the night of the funeral, a part of her was grateful for it but for the most part she'd have preferred to be left alone to mourn until the chance to avenge her loss presented itself. But what had just occurred was impossible to ignore, and the severity of the situation was what had led her to be swooping through the night and scatting across rooftops alongside Jean, the wind whipping through her short black hair.

"Jean!" she called up to him as she pulled level with the other.

"Mikasa?" he seemed surprised to see her, his amber eyes widening in surprise at her rather sudden appearance. "You came out to?"

"They told me something had happened and that it was bad; I had to see what was going on for myself." She replied, leaping off the peak of a sharply slanted roof to swing gracefully onto the neighboring roof. "Do you know anything?"

"No one has shared any details yet even if they do know something, which is unlikely; I don't think anyone knows what's really happened or if the responsible party is still inside but there's definitely been an attack on the store house. There's a number dead and some gear has been stolen, atop that-_Look out!"_ They managed to dodge just shy of the pin-wheeling blades that screamed over their heads as a dark shape sailed passed them like some enormous bat. "_Oi! Come back here you bastard!" _Pulling a sharp turn he companion rocketed off after the retreating shape.

"Jean, come back!" She shouted after him, but he ignored her and she was left with no choice but to follow after as quickly as she could.

"He's the one that's responsible for the attack; a murderer! We can't just let him get away!"

This, rocketing through the empty sky after a bloodstained shade, was madness and she was well aware of that fact but leaving him alone was an even worse option and so she remained on his tail as best she could until their quarry finally swung to a stop on a rooftop a few blocks away from where their pursuit had started. Tall and lean but muscular, much like a lion; male and clad in a long black hoodie with the hood pulled up to conceal his face beneath a cowl of deep shadow. The fact that he had need for the gear currently strapped around his waist made it clear that it was a Human they were facing and his skill with it revealed that the perpetrator-whoever he really was-at the very least had gone through the beginnings of Hunter training.

"Did you really think that you would get away with this?" no answer; the blackness beneath the hood continued to stare in silence. "Answer me!"

"What exactly do you expect to gain out of anything that I might have to say to you, Hunter dog?" It was immediately obvious from the unnatural timbre that the speaker was modifying his voice so that it growled and snarled deep in the back of his throat. "Some sort of explanation? You'll find none! Tell your superiors that the era of your so-called sacred order is at end! By the time my master is through, day and night will subside into Twilight! A better world is coming, but it's unlikely that any one of you will be around to see it!"

"You're not getting away with this!" Jean leapt forwards with his blades drawn, but in a surprising display of agility the black-clad figure side stepped out of the way and retaliated with a punishing stiff arms which sent him careening over the edge of the rooftop.

"Jean!" As she went diving after him to ensure that he recovered from a potentially fatal fall the hooded assailant ceased his chance to flee the scene and disappear into the night. He'd managed to catch himself by a single wire only a few feet above the ground; disengaging himself, he dropped to the cobbled street, bleeding from a split lip but otherwise unharmed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied as she landed on the street as well. "Did he get away?"

"Yes, he's gone." She confirmed grimly. "This doesn't bode well at all; sure the M.P is still in uproar over what has recently transpired in their own ranks, but now it looks like that mad man-whoever he was-belongs to some sort of terrorist group that has it out for both Humanity and the Night Race. And he wasn't just any normal human either, he may well not have graduated from the academy but he made it through at least the three required years of training."

"And that means that he's either a drop out, or we have a traitor in our ranks."

"And someone we know; he was disguising his voice so that we couldn't recognize it." She noted. "Did you notice anything else about him; you got closer."

"I did notice a scent; a very…particular one." He said. "Definitely peppermint but something else too. It was almost floral but also smelled sort of like backing spices and I have not even the slightest clue what it could have been. But it's recognizable enough that I would know if I ever smell it again and that could give us a clue to our identity."

"A good point, but for the moment I think that we should concern ourselves with what is going on at the present; we still need to meet up with the others at the scene."

He nodded. "You're right." Finished checking his wires to insure that they hadn't been stripped by the fall, Jean fired them up onto the nearest roof and swung up into the air leaving her to follow. The supply depot where the attack had occurred wasn't very far from their current position and so it only took them a few minutes more to get there. Reiner was the first to see them and hurried over.

"What took the both of you so long?"

"We had the misfortune of running into a mad man." Jean grumbled. "Good news is we can be sure he's not sill in there."

"Let's head inside and try to figure out exactly what happened, then." Mikasa lead the way into the little building with the others trailing somewhat hesitantly behind. Inside it was dark, the lights that hung from the ceiling broken out and spitting sparks. Aside from the gear the attacker had been armed with nothing appeared to have been stolen. Bodies, badly maimed to the point of nearly being torn apart, lay scattered about the room and painted on the wall in what they quickly realized with horror was blood was the name that their mysterious attacker had given himself. **ROGUE**.

"What the hell was this guy after? And where did he come from?" The blonde grumbled, crossing his arms over his burly chest. "Nothing stolen but gear; to think he'd massacre everyone working here over something like that. And to paint his name on the wall in blood…are we dealing with some sort of Vampire gone mad?"

"He's Human, of that much I'm sure." She informed him. "He was using the gear when we came upon him, and the fact that he would need it reveals him not to be a Son of the Night."

"In order to get away from the pair of you he'd have not just be using the gear, but using it with a great deal of proficiency." Annie pointed out. "Are you telling me that one of our own did this? Potentially even one of the top 10?"

"The only member of the top 10 currently MIA at the moment is Eren, and we all know that-unless we're dealing with some sort of ghost-it couldn't be him. Jean and Mikasa were together when they were attacked and the rest of us were all here." Ymir said. "Let's focus on what we know about this 'Rogue', or at the very least what we can assume to know, before we start any witch hunts."

"She's right," Armin agreed. "The last thing that we want to do in a time like this is breed mistrust and suspicion within our own ranks when we should be pulling together to better be able to spot someone in the act." His blue eyes swiveled over to the most recent arrivals to the scene. "Tell us everything that you noticed about him, down to even the tiniest seemingly insignificant detail. We never know what might give him away."

"We're certainly sure that Rogue is male." She said immediately. "He was dressed in baggy street clothes like some sort of thug; a black hoodie with no logo and a pair of ripped jeans; he had on a pair of black converse and covered his hands with leather gloves almost as if the color of his skin might have been something to give him away as well. Perhaps he's more tan or more pale than the average person. He was tall, over 5 feet; closer to 6 than 5, really. Very leggy, which is something uncommon for a guy. When he spoke, he modified his voice as if he knew it was a give away."

"He was very agile; quick on his feet and strong enough to throw me off the roof." Jean picked up where she'd left off. "And there was definitely a recognizable scent about him, like some sort of potpourri or something."

"You said that he spoke to you? What did he say? Any propaganda or hints at his beliefs could speak volumes towards his motives."

"Well, he did call us 'hunter dogs' and questioned our intelligence for attempting to interrogate him."

"And he referenced that he was answering to someone else; some 'master' of sorts." Mikasa reminded him. "Announced himself as an enemy of both the Military Police and our Order. Said something about a 'better world' coming, but one we wouldn't live to see. It's quite possible that we're dealing with some sort of terrorist group."

"But why now? It seems a bit sudden that a terrorist group, if that's really what this loon is a part of, would suddenly pop up out of nowhere. Wouldn't we have had them on our radar before?" Connie piped up. "Doesn't that sort of thing take time?"

"Normally it does, but we have to consider that circumstances like what we have now can suddenly birth movements that would otherwise take years to organize if they ever would have at all." Marco pointed out thoughtfully. "With the explosive political upheaval that the Military Police is experiencing, and the vacuum of power left behind by Rivaille's death, it's inductive to the downtrodden or disillusioned to attempt to shake their oppressor's iron yoke free. It's possible that the Turned Ones or Half Bloods are making a bid for the power that they have been denied for centuries."

"Looking back, the histories never really did say that the Legion was destroyed. Only that they were defeated and banished."

"Do you really think that they're behind this?" Krista squeaked, eyes wide with fear. "After so long? And without their leader?"

"Old leaders fall and new leaders rise to take their place, Krista. That's the way that the world has always been." Reiner said grimly, casting another glance around at the carnage surrounding them. "Whatever this really is, the Pure Bloods the Legion or just some lunatic psycho acting out at the behest of his hallucinations, it's bad."

"He's right," Berthold agreed nervously. "If another bloody war like the Smith Rebellion does break out, it doesn't look like we'll be allowed to sit out and watch the Vampires kill each other like we did the last time. We're targets too."

Grim silence followed this stark reality until Armin's voice of reason spoke again. "We may be able to stop it before it comes to that. It's evident that this 'Rogue' is an infiltrator within our own ranks; we find him and we'll likely find his master too. And once that happens, we can destroy this from the source."

"Good point."

"Though his experience with the gear would say otherwise, we'll start our investigation with the recruits at the academy as they'd be the easiest to sway from the oaths that they have taken. To give as little time to get rid of evidence as possible we'll look into everyone in their second year and higher who is male and over 5 feet. If any seem suspicious we'll question them further."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"We turn to the records and look in on our fellow officers. Even the superiors. No one outside of this meeting is exempt from suspicion until Rogue's true identity is rooted out is that clear?"

"Crystal."

None of them were under any illusion that this undertaking wouldn't be a long and arduous one. It would take time and energy, a lot of it, and there was a near certainty that in the mean time Rogue would strike again. The last few hours before sunrise were spent sorting through page after page of manifestos to determine who they would need to question and who to ignore. Three days after that were spent corralling a bunch of 11-14 year old boys into a room and brow beating them until they were near to tears and all of it turned up nothing. The last night that they were there, as if to taunt them, Rogue snuck into the first year dorm and left his mark behind carved into the walls with a knife; this time, thankfully, no one was hurt.

"We always knew the likelihood of him being a student was low, but we had to check." All that any of them could do to justify to themselves the time that they had wasted. And so they hit the books yet again, rubbing their noses red raw against the grid stone in a seemingly hopeless effort to catch the phantom out, and all the while Rogue would busy himself hitting another part of their fortifications-Trost, Karanese, even the outskirts of the barracks themselves-before disappearing like smoke in the wind. It seemed like an impossible task but they had to keep trying. It was almost two full months later that she was disturbed from pouring over records-checking and rechecking before checking everything all over again-by Marco."

"Mikasa."

"Not now, I can't afford to miss anything!"

"No, Mikasa. I really think…it's important."

She turned to face him with a frown only to falter slightly when she found him very pale with a look of shock on his face. "What happened, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I…I think I might have."

Irrationality like that was the last thing that she needed at that moment. "What do you mean you 'think' you've seen a ghost? Is this some sort of joke that Horse Face put you up to?"

"N-No, I…it's just…go up to the infirmary and you'll see what I mean."

Sighing in a mixture of resignation and annoyance, she flipped the record book closed with more force that was really necessary sending a mushroom cloud of dust rising into the air. Pushing gently passed his somewhat petrified form and out into the hallway, Mikasa quickly made her way down the corridor and into the infirmary. What the hell had he been going on about? The room looked just as it always had; normal. The cleaned to sparkling floors, unadorned white walls, bright white and neatly made cots lined up against the walls like rows of little soldiers. Then her eyes fell on the only occupied bed which stood in the far corner of the room, on the figure lying asleep beneath the sheets so covered in healing cuts and yellowing bruises that he was all but unrecognizable. But how could it possibly be him? They'd told her with absolute certainty that her brother had died in a fire. That everyone inside of the manor had been killed. But it was him, and as she got close enough to really see through the damage at his familiar sleeping face she knew. Sitting down carefully on the side of the bed she reached out a shaking hand to gently touch his cheek; blue-green eyes slowly slid open and he blinked up at her groggily with a hazy expression.

"Eren," it was almost impossible to describe what she was feeling at the moment, having her brother back. Relief just wasn't strong enough. "Hi." It was immediately evident from his unfocused gaze that they had him on strong pain killers. "You do recognize me, don't you?"

A momentary pause before he nodded. "Mikasa." His speech was slurred and hesitant; he hiccupped drunkenly before an enormous grin overtook his face and he started laughing like a maniac. "Miiiikasa!"

"They really have you on the good stuff, don't they?" and a lot of it if his drunken behavior was anything to go by. "What happened? They said that you died in a fire."

"Fire? It was _huge_! The house was…up!" This statement was followed by an exaggerated hand motion. "I…had some wine because Levi said I needed to calm down because I was upset; we'd had sex at the peer and didn't realize they were watching. They lit the house on fire."

"Ok." She'd just have to ask him again when he was of right mind. "What happened then?"

His face screwed up as if he were struggling to remember. "I was drunk. I saw a light in the hallway and went to turn it off but it was a fire not a light. So I woke everyone up and we jumped out of the window and hid in the sewers."

"The sewers?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, the sewers. We were looking for Under City."

"You're really out of it, aren't you?" it was actually rather amusing to see him like this.

"I'm high."

"I agree." The silver glint around his neck caught her eye at that moment and she reached forwards to gently pull the little silver chain around his neck free of his shirt; the little key pulled free of the fabric to rest against his chest. "Eren, this is…! But how did you get it?"

"Levi took me back to the house; I found it in the burn out and he hung it on a chain for me so that I wouldn't lose it."

Levi. The second time she'd heard that name. "And who is Levi?"

"Levi is Levi." A pause. "It's easier to call him Levi than Rivaille."

So that was his drug induced fantasy world. "And what is your relationship with Levi?"

"Isn't it obvious already?" he giggled like a school girl. "We're together. At first he was really mean and vicious but then he got all nice all of the sudden. He's not as big and scary as he used to be."

"You should get some sleep, Eren. You need it to heal." Hopefully by morning she'd be able to get some coherent information out of him. "I'll bring you up some food at dinner."

He nodded sluggishly, eyes already falling closed. "Mmm." By the time she left a few minutes later her brother was once again out could; almost the moment she was out in the hallway she ran into Armin.

"Did he say anything?"

"He's on so much morphine that he barely knows who he is." She told him. "It's best that we wait until later to question him."

"You're right about that much. But all the same, we need to talk to you; come to the dorms." She followed him through the hallways and found the other's gathered around with grim looks on their faces.

"Eren is alive, then?" Jean asked in a low growl. "Convenient, don't you think? Long term contact with a Vampire known for torturing his victims into insanity. He's male, 5'6" exactly and more than capable of everything that Rogue has done."

"He's my brother Kirschstein, so if you're accusing him of this then I'm afraid I don't agree with you."

"I'm not saying that Jean is right, but I do think we need to consider him a suspect Mikasa." Armin suggested. "Remember what we agreed on; all outside our initial meeting who even vaguely fit his description are to be considered suspect."

"With how wounded he is how could he possibly have done what Rogue has?" she demanded. "Besides, it doesn't fit with his personality or beliefs! Aside from Armin, none of you have known him for as long as I have but you all know full well how he's always been! Hell bent on eradicating the Vampires; he'd never turn on us! Never side with a Vampire of any kind, Turned or Pure Blood! Even so much as suggesting such a thing is just ridiculous."

"All the same I think it's irresponsible on our part not to investigate him just as thoroughly as we have everyone else." Krista pointed out. "We understand that you're not entirely happy with the prospect-."

"I think that not happy is a bit of an understatement, but I understand that you all feel a need to engage in this ridiculous witch hunt! I, however, will abstain from getting involved. If you're going to question him wait until the morphine is at least partially out of his system; at the moment he can't reasonably be expected to accurately inform you of his own name."

"And we have your word that you won't interfere?"

She narrowed her eyes to this much. "It's bad enough that you would consider my brother suspect, but to suggest that I would aid and abet him if he is-as your ridiculous theory suggests-Rogue is simply offensive!"

"We don't mean to have it taken in that context, Mikasa." Annie informed her coolly. "But you need to try and see things from our perspective; Eren if you're brother and it's evident that you care about him a great deal, as you should considering that he is family. It is also evident that you don't believe it is possible that he could be responsible for any of this, which opens up to possibility that you might let something slip-be it on accident or intentionally-to forewarn him of our intentions."

"If that's such a concern to you then don't bother to include me in the investigation from this point forwards." Brushing a few strands of raven hair behind one ear, Mikasa diverted her gaze to the window. "It may be a purposeful oversight of the oaths that I have taken to this Order on my part but I can't bring myself to ever think of Eren in that light."

"All things considered, it's understandable." Ymir noted. "I'm not sure about what the Superiors will say, but we won't hold it against you."

"I'll excuse myself, then." She said turning to walk out. "And if you do find anything else…I don't think I want to know." From there she left to collect dinner for bother herself and Eren and by the time she returned to his bedside he was awake again and seemed to have come down from his heavily medicated state. "Better now?"

"What…do you mean?" clearly his recollection of the last few hours was fuzzy at best; he shifted slightly in pain.

"They had you on _a lot_ of morphine when we talked the first time." She replied with a small smile, handing over his tray which he expected with a small wince. "Want to tell me what actually happened to you?"

"I…it was horrible, Mikasa. I've never seen those monsters go at it like that before." A shuddered racked his bruised form. "Rivaille and his Uncle fought after the M.P.s lit the mansion on fire. Kenny killed him, wiped out his entire coven, kidnapped me and held me hostage for…I'm honestly not sure how long. Tortured me near within an inch of my life until, by some miracle not that I really believe in them, I managed to escape. I don't know how I made it here, but I did."

"I know you really don't believe in things like God anymore but I really think you should get back into the habit; someone was looking out for you." He grunted noncommittally in response and started eating. "Who is Levi?" At this point he stiffened and became very pale. "Eren."

"I-I…I've known for a while but I never told anyone. I'm…Levi is my boyfriend of, by this point, around two years."

Boyfriend? Oh. Oh! "Are you…serious? Like, I know you mean it when you say that you're…but how serious is your relationship with this guy?"

"We've…engaged in…things a few times." He outlined delicately. "About a year ago, on that day off when I disappeared for an entire day, he took me to Maria. Back to the house. And after I found the key he hung it on this chain for me. I've had it for a while but I've never really…carried it; I wore it during my mission as a sort of good luck charm. I guess it worked."

"I guess it did." She agreed. "Eren, don't think that I have anything against the fact that you're gay-straight, gay, bi, asexual or anything else you'll always still be my brother-but I am upset about you not trusting me enough to admit the truth."

Eren breathed a heavy sigh as he stirred his soup with a small frown. "It wasn't that I didn't trust you. It's just…I suppose there was always that small part of me that didn't want to face it."

"So what's he like? Levi, I mean." Her lips twitched upwards into a small grin. "I'd like to know some more about him, considering that he may one day end up as my brother-in-law."

To that much he turned bright red. "W-Well, he can be an ass sometimes but that's a mutual quality of everybody ever so it's no surprise. He comes off as cold and detached, even arrogant, to other people but he's really warm and sweet." He grinned. "He spoils me rotten-he's filthy rich but I figured that out later, damn attorneys-and treats me like I'm made out of gold and crystal. As a Hunter, with all of the shit coming at me from all sides and the constant expectation to be strong, it's a nice change of pace."

"Will I get to meet him any time soon?"

"_No!_" As if realizing that he'd made a mistake of some sort, he swallowed hard and added "not right now; he'll be out of town for another month or so in…San Fransisco. A murder trial; very busy. Maybe later."

"O-Ok then." Standing up, she accepted the half-finished tray he handed over. "I'll take this down to the kitchens. If you get hungry later…"

"I know where to look, yes."

Biding him farewell for the night, she left her brother sitting up in the infirmary bed and made for the doors. As Mikasa left the hospital bay and headed towards her dorm to sleep she did her best to put her concerns over his sudden defensiveness out of her mind.


	15. Come Crashing

**Spring Break, thank God! More time to sleep, relax, play video games and of course (hopefully) update regularly.**

**I realize I probably have been interchanging Rivaille and Levi but at this point I'm too lazy to fix it so whatever lol.**

She'd watched over him as he recovered, and now her brother had been cleared to leave the infirmary and the night prior had been his first spent back in the dorms; she'd returned his things to him which she had gathered into a box beneath her bed after what she had believed was his funeral. Now, on the first semi-warm day they had had in quite a while, they sat together in the sun at one of the picnic tables scattered at intervals about the grounds, Mikasa on the bench and Eren reclined across the top of the table with his body propped up on his elbows and his head tilted back to allow the sun to warm his face. Seeing him like this reminded her of all of the old familiarity of his features and highlighted the new things which she hadn't quite noticed before now. New scars, but that was to be expected; battle scars were worn proudly as badges of honor and after seven years in the order they all had more than their fair share of them; the faint film of yellowing bruises scattered across his cheek bones; the silver crescents etched against his neck. Her fingers found them without conscious thought, tracing over the scared skin; raised and colder than the rest of his skin. He shifted slightly, turning his head to peer at her through one eye.

"Something the matter?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't…" she sighed. "When were you bitten, Eren?"

Immediately his hand shot up to cover the scars from view. "It happened a few times. And to keep my cover I had to let him." For a moment he looked almost uncomfortable. "It hurt at first, the fangs, the venom, but after a while I stopped feeling it. All things considered, most especially his reputation for brutality, Rivaille treated me pretty well. I almost regret coming back."

"Why would that be?"

He snorted. "I feel like I'm being shunned by the others; kept out in the cold. They'll stop talking whenever I come into the room, and glare at me whenever they think I'm not looking. They're always really jumpy whenever I'm around and it's almost impossible to get any of them to say a word to me. I know that some shit has gone down recently and that Hunters are being targeted but no one will tell me anything concrete about it."

"They don't want me to tell you anything, and that's why I've been shut out as well. You're a suspect Eren; a matter of procedure."

"Figures; I'm outside of the loop so I'm potentially just as evil as everyone else." How quickly he accepted this was rather alarming. "I've spoken to Shadis already-went to see him last night-and it's been determined that the best way to go about this is for me to retire from active duty until all of this-the investigation-blows over."

"But that would entail you leaving the barracks. Where would you go?"

"I spoke to Levi on the phone last night; informed him of the circumstances. I originally intended to ask to borrow his house while all of this shit runs its course. Instead I ended up getting wired enough money to buy out the state of New York and told to rent an apartment of my choosing. Reportedly, his driver should be appearing on the scene in about 5 minutes so I should probably go and grab my suitcase."

"Tell me where you're staying when you do find an apartment; I still want to be able to see you from time to time."

"I will," he promised absently as he slid off the table top and onto the floor. "Though I won't be in most of the time; his two friends have likely been given marching orders to keep me busy so it's a good idea to call before you just drop in so that I can run home when I'm out."

"Of course; keep in contact as much as possible. I don't like the thought of you running around, especially with that murderer running around."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll call you every other night if that will keep you from panicking." Waving her off, he continued across the yard and back into the building to make his way up to the dorms. Once again walking in on a conversation that he was clearly not meant to be party to he rolled his eyes as Armin and Marco clamed up and looked at him as if he were holding a knife and had just threatened to kill them. "Give me two minutes to grab my shit and I'll be out of your hair."

"W-What do you mean?" he hadn't heard the blonde stutter around him since the second grade; annoyed, he took out his anger by kicking his bunk only to end up with sore toes.

"Fuck!" He hissed under his breath, favoring his injured foot as he bent to drag the small black suit case from underneath his bed. "I'm going to be living as a civilian of my own volition until all of this is over with. I'm leaving the barracks and renting an apartment in the Karanese District until further notice."

"Karanese?" Marco yelped in disbelief. "Top 10 or not, at our rank there's no way that you could afford that Eren!"

"Of course not, are you insane; those prices are ridiculous! But so is the amount of money my psychotic partner wired to me from some illegal offshore bank account once he heard about what was going on. But, considering what he does for a living and the amount that he spends on his tea and coffee, what he sent me could easily be considered junk change." Heaving the fully packed back up onto the sheets he ran through a quick check before nodding to himself. "I'll call Mikasa from the apartment once I've found one; she'll let the rest of you know in case you need anything from me."

"We'll keep that in mind."

"Be safe; it's dangerous out there." The brunet simply grunted in response as he left the room with the bag in toe. The car was just pulling to a stop as he crossed the lawn at a quick jog.

"Hello, Eren. How have things been going?" Gunther asked as he opened the trunk to put his bag in.

"Fair I suppose. I know that they suspect me but it's difficult to tell how much; they're hyper cautious and stop talking the minute I'm around. But I 'carelessly' left a shit load of evidence behind which, provided they're not completely stupid, they should 'stumble' on within the next 48 hours."

"Hopefully they catch on quickly. The Turned are getting anxious and I think it's safe to say we're all well aware that we're running out of time."

"It won't be much longer now, even if I have to go in and confess to Shadis." He wasn't entirely surprised by the sight that met him as he slid into the interior of the car, but it still brought a smile to his face regardless. "Levi!"

The raven snorted at him in response. "Don't act so damn shocked brat, you aren't the only one with a dislike of being separated." He said. "I take it that, given the suddenness of your call last night, the apartment wasn't a part of your original plan."

"No, but it gives me more room to maneuver. They're slow to catch on-at least as far as I can tell-but they're more cautious than a groundhog is afraid of its own shadow. Every time I come within ten feet they stop talking!"

"Might I ask?"

"Hmm?"

"Murder trial in San Fransisco?"

"I had to come up with some way to explain away the phenomenon of your bank account going through mitosis three times daily aside from '500+ year old Pure Blood Vampire of the Ackerman line'; it was either lawyer or leader of a Mexican drug cartel, and frankly you seem more like an attorney."

"You could have just made me out to be a Gatsby."

"Yet another reference that I don't understand."

"Can you even read, brat?"

"Yes. I just don't make a habit of it, since I rarely have to time." He said, snuggling closer while looking out the window. "Shall we go apartment shopping, then?"

"You make it sound as if we're going to be living together."

"Well I know we won't be this time, but hopefully one day once all of this is over."

"You still haven't answered that question that I asked you back then. About where in the world you'd want to live most."

"Well that's kind of hard to say because there's a lot of places where I'd love to live; to be honest with you I'd love to see the world before I die." Sitting back further in the luxurious cushions Eren sighed. "I was born in Berlin, but we moved to America when I was little so I don't really remember all that much of Germany."

"How does this sound; a permanent residence in Berlin, a summer home in Paris and a vacation to a different part of the world every year."

"That sounds amazing!" He yelped excitedly. "But…we'll have to see all of this through first, won't we."

"Chin up brat. That was meant to be the light at the end of the tunnel not some distant flight of fantasy." Rivaille told him in response to the disheartened expression on the other's face as he opened the brief case that had previously been sitting beside his feet. A shuffling of papers filled the air as the contents were extracted. "I took the liberty of preparing a list of the apartments which fit your specifications as a staging area; easy for the little shits to sneak in and fill the place with wires and cameras and whatever the hell other spy equipment they feel the urge to employ. Take a look."

Eren took the offered papers and shifted through them quickly, taking a cursory glance of each of them before choosing the one he liked the most. "How far is this one from the hotel where you're all staying?"

"About three to five minutes on foot," he replied. "Is that the one you want?" Eren nodded and the address was promptly passed up to the front. "Call your friends and give them the address."

"I was just about to when you said that," the brunet replied with a roll of his eyes, pulling his phone from his pocket and pressing the speed dial button. "Hey Mika. Yeah, I know it was fast; I didn't expect to have a list of the best five already prepared for me. Yes. 675 Delris Dr." His brow furrowed for a moment. "No I have no idea what it looks like, I haven't gotten there yet; still ten minutes away. Why? O-Oh, they will? Great, thanks for the heads up. I'll talk to you later." He hung up the phone and sighed.

"Welcome wagon, brat?"

"Yeah, Horseface and his entourage are waiting for us there already; how they got there so damn fast is beyond me."

"How will you deal with this?"

"These are tinted windows, right?"

He nodded. "Heavily, why?"

"Because I want to make sure they won't be able to see you by looking in from the doorway; just stay in the car and let me deal with them." As they pulled up to the curb Eren jumped out and hurried up to the little group that had gathered at the door; Jean, Reiner, Annie and Berthold all turned to look at him expectantly. "How the hell did you guys get here so damn fast?"

"We were nearby." Annie deadpanned.

"Think of this as a housewarming party," Jean all but sneered as Reiner handed over a hastily wrapped box. "Do you have the key?"

"Uh, actually no. I'm waiting on the land lady to come and deliver it. She should be here soon." Eren explained as the much taller male skirted around him to head for the street. "Uh, B-Berthold where are you going?"

"It's a nice car. You don't mind if we check it out do you?" he asked innocently, to which Eren only fidgeted nervously.

"Y-Yeah, just…don't scratch it or anything. He said something about it just having been waxed!"

"We won't scratch it, calm down!" Reiner grunted, pushing passed him as well to join his friend beside the car. The sleek liquid obsidian paint, the windows devoid of so much as even a single smudge and tinted far beyond what anyone could consider to be legal concealing the interior from all but the closest of examination. "Someone else is in there!" The look of horror on Eren's face was quickly masked but didn't go unnoticed. Stepping forwards, Jean rapped smartly on the glass with the back of his knuckles.

"Oi, open up!"

The window promptly rolled down to unveil the other party inside. "-had taken notes like I had told you to this wouldn't have happened! What kind of total moron can't competently handle the closing statement of an open and closed case on his own? Do I need to change your diapers too or something? I don't give a flaming fuck if you're 'partner'. Lose this case and you're fired!" Snapping his cellphone shut a rather irate raven turned his gaze onto him. "Can I fucking help you, brat?"

"L-Levi!" The brunet looked rather mortified by his behavior. "This is Jean; if he smudged the window doing that, feel free to make him clean the entire car a few times over."

"Jean, is it?" he repeated, eyes narrowing as he observed the two-toned ash blonde closely. "You're right, Eren. He does have a horse face."

"And you're a horse's ass!" Jean snapped back as the older man proceeded to get out of the car. "Who the hell are you anyway, Richie Rich?"

"You've just dated yourself with that statement; when someone as old as me tells you that…" he trailed off as Eren snickered. "The name is Levi Allerton, one of the most successful lawyers this side of the big pool separating our country from Europe. I run a practice in Sina and used to live there too until this brat," he motioned to Eren, "threw the biggest hissy fit in the history of mankind; something about my next door neighbor the crazy cat lady being a Vampire or something. I live in Rose, now."

"Mikasa told us that you said your boyfriend was in California working some high profile case." Annie said.

"What did you think the phone call you overheard was about?" he replied, shutting the car door behind him. "When I heard about this brat's plight I recused myself from the case and jumped on the first flight back. I may be his boyfriend but I am also his lawyer so from this point forward I must be present whenever you speak to him regarding the case."

"We don't run the same system you civilians do, with all due respect." Berthold informed him, unnerved and wary by how the much shorter man simply glared bitingly up at him.

"I tried to tell him that," Eren informed him weakly. "He won't listen to me."

"Where is that land lady? She was supposed to arrive here five minutes ago!" Said just as a truck roared up onto the scene and another figure leapt out, hurrying over to them with the key in hand.

"S-Sorry about that, I ran into some traffic. Here you are Mr. Acker-."

"That will be all thank you, the brat will pay his rent at the end of the month." Snatching the key away, he grabbed his taller fellow's shoulder and began to steer him towards the door; exchanging glances, the other's followed.

"Wow, it sure is stale in here." Eren noted as the other darted about opening windows. "And…empty; for a 'high end' apartment this is fairly drab."

"We'll go fabric shopping if you're so desperate for a bit of color, brat. For now, what this hell hole needs is a good cleaning! I will not stand by you living in filth!"

"Levi, it's just dust."

"Yes, dust to which you are allergic! And do you even know what makes up dust?" He demanded. "Bugs and dander, allergens and dead skin cells!" A violent shudder ran up his frame.

"I think you may be over reacting, just a little."

"I assure you, I most certainly am not."

"Mmhm." Seeming to decide against continuing the argument Eren simply relented and allowed him to have his point.

"Well we have to head back, but you should open the door before we go." Annie pointed at the box in Eren's hands. "It isn't all that much, but…"

"You got something; even if it was just an excuse to come and bother me…I'm touched, I guess." The raven watched in mild amusement as he tore the badly applied paper off the object to reveal a brand new "what the hell is this?"

"Book case ending, brat. Did you never notice them in the library when you came over to my house?" Lifting the strange object-to a very confused Eren it looked like a wooden statue with a flat back-out of his hands he set it on the little end table which was one of the only pieces of furniture scattered sparsely across the room. "It's meant to be placed at the end of the books that you have on a shelf to keep them from falling over in the event that you don't have quite enough to fill it. We'll put it up once you get a book shelf but for now let's just leave it here."

"Sounds good to me," Eren said, eyeing it warily. "It looks like a creepy Buddha. I'm not really sure I want that in my house Levi, it could be fucking possessed by demons or something!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "You're a Vampire Hunter and you're afraid of a statue? It isn't like they brought you Annabelle."

"Says the guy who is chased through his nightmares by a ravenous herd of dust bunnies!" He retorted.

"Unsanitary conditions are very scary; live on the streets for any span of time and you'll soon understand what I mean." As calm a rebuttal as ever as he made his way back towards the door. "I'll go and retrieve your shit from the car and inform Gunther that he may go; if it isn't disagreeable I'll be staying with you tonight to help you get settled in. And make sure you're not murdered in your sleep by your…gift."

"Are you ever going to let me live that down?" rather than giving him an answer Levi simply walked out. Sighing, he turned to them. "Are the four of you leaving now?"

"Are you kicking us out, Jӓger?"

"You said you had to leave."

"Keep talking like that and people might think you have something to hide."

At this much Eren narrowed his eyes. "I don't like you Horse face. I never have and I never will. And I am well aware that you don't like me either. I'm aware that I am a suspect in all of this shit, though, mind you, I'm still entirely clueless as to what all of this shit is even about! I have nothing to hide. I am going to do all in my power to cooperate with your investigation but don't expect me to be happy that my loyalty, my Humanity itself, is being questioned. Now, are you leaving or is there something else that you want? Because you'd better make it quick before Levi decides to put you all to work helping us clean!"

"We've bothered you for long enough, Eren. We'll see ourselves out now." Annie dragged the other three out of the house, passing Rivaille as he made his way back inside with the suitcase in tow. "Well you're at it, Jean, why don't you tell him that the book case ending is actually a hidden camera!" She hissed at him, releasing the other three only after they were around the corner from the apartment and out of sight.

"Oh come on, he's cagey as all hell! It's fucking obvious that he's been flipped!"

"And you made it nearly as obvious that we're going to be spying on him!"

"I think it's safe to say that he knows we're on to him already; you all saw how freaked out he was when we went up to the car." Reiner pointed out. "It was like he was protecting it, or more over, protecting the person inside."

"Allerton, he said his name was." Berthold said. "Did any of the rest of you notice how that land lady almost called him Ackerman?"

"We've just met up with a real monster then, haven't we?" Jean growled. "You'll keep track of the video feed won't you?"

"What are you doing that you can't keep track of it with us?"

"Marco and I are heading out to Garrison."

"A lunch date? You're joking."

"If it'll keep him from bitching, I say let him go." Annie said, waving him away. "Go on then, Kirschtein. But be ready to get back into things the minute that you return; no one cares if you had this planned for months or decided on it just this morning, everyone is expected to pour their weight."

"You think that I don't know that?" he snapped back as he turned to walk off. "When we get back I'm going to turn the dorm upside down to see if he might have left anything behind. Tell the others that I'll be back in a few hours." The walk to Garrison from there only took about 10 minutes and by the time he reached the sports bar Marco was already there. Lunch was ordered, pleasant conversation was exchanged, and then no other than Thomas came over to refill their drinks."

"Wow, aside from Eren I haven't seen any of you guys in over a year."

That seemingly off-hand comment got their attention immediately. "What do you mean 'other than Eren'?" Marco inquired. "The last time that he came here was with us."

"He came in a few months ago with three other people; introduced them as Farlan Isabelle and Levi and said that they were senior hunters. He went on to explain to me that he'd been assigned their help in hunting down an Ackerman." Setting the pitcher of water down on the table he shook his head and chuckled. "They were a little odd if you ask me but I'm not one to judge. However it did appear that Eren and that Levi guy were doing more than just working together if you know what I mean; he made a few innuendos that had Eren's face lit up like a Christmas tree."

"Really? That's…interesting." Jean hissed.

"Well, I've got to get around to the other tables before my boss yells at me so…"

"Go ahead Thomas. It was good to see you again, as always." Marco assured him, but as he walked away he turned to Jean with a worried expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"We ran into 'Levi' today at Eren's new apartment and he passed himself off to be an attorney not a Hunter. We have good reason to believe that his real identity is Rivaille Ackerman."

"Damn it Eren, what have you done?" he muttered, lowering his head into his hands. "Eren is our friend. I don't understand what would possess him to do any of this."

"I think it's safe to say he's no longer in his right mind, Marco. It's a shame, regardless of how much I dislike him, because he was a good person-I guess-and because he was the a fighter of a breed you just don't find often anymore. But that Vampire tortured him until his mind broke and now we're left with no choice but to preserve what little of his honor might be left through the final mercy."

"But do you really think they'll use the Hand on him? It hasn't been seen in almost 300 years. And a death like that…it just seems so cruel."

"It's far quicker and cleaner than the death's his victims have suffered. And maybe we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. Maybe Ackerman will show up to try and save his precious pet."

The other sighed, his freckled face devoid of its usual bright smile. "Does she know?"

"Who, Mikasa? No. She still won't accept that he brother could be an enemy of mankind. And I can't really blame her, considering how he's all she has left in this world and she's already lost her family once before. But once we capture something on that video and show it to her she'll have to see reason."

"I suppose we should be heading back, then."

He nodded. "Yes, I suppose we should." Their chairs scrapped softly against the carpeted floor as they pushed them back to stand, leaving payment and a tip all in cash before hailing a cab back to the barracks. "Anything yet?"

"A whole hell of a lot of sneezing as Eren seems to be allergic to dust and the spring cleaning is aggravating that allergy."

"They've been at it non-stop for a few hours," Connie added in. "But it looks like they'll be stopping soon."

"Achoo!" A particularly loud sneeze exploded from the poor quality speakers.

"Damn it brat, that's got to be the hundredth time in the past ten minutes alone!"

"I'm sorry. This is why I don't clean that much."

"I can see that, you snot-nosed little shit."

"I'm not-!"

"Go look in the mirror and tell your reflection that!" The other cut him off quietly with a grimace. "Luckily I know all about your little allergy considering your eyes turned red and puffy after you crawled under the bed thinking you'd lost your key; I brought some tea with me that ought to help because I figured this would happen."

"Do you have a tea for everything?"

"Better than going to the damn doctor and ending up high off some poison!"

"Hey, my Father was a doctor."

"Explains a lot."

"Oi!"

"Tch, shitty brat. Go clean yourself up your face is disgusting!" With that both left the room, headed in opposite directions from one another. A few minutes later a red-eyed and sniffling Eren returned and flopped down on the couch with a groan.

"Fucking allergies!" He grumbled, throwing an arm over his eyes to shield them from the bright light streaming in through the window. Soft clanking echoed out of the kitchen at intervals, accompanied by a quiet phone conversation and then the high pitched squeal of a tea pot. Rivaille soon returned with a steaming cup of tea in hand. "Oi, you awake? You need to take these things now or you'll be sniffling and dripping snot for the next few days!"

"Allegra? I thought you didn't believe in medicating people."

"I said it's better not to, not that I don't believe in the practice. Of course that may be due to the fact that, back when I was your age, medically prescribed medications included Opium and Cocaine. And the fact that, before now, I employed pills as a method of torture."

"If I didn't know you as well as I do, and trust you as much as I-probably stupidly-do," Eren said as he took the two tiny white pills "I wouldn't take these."

"Idiot." The raven rolled his eyes as the snickering brunet sipped his tea. "I ordered take out for dinner; it should be here by the time I finish cleaning. You should rest now if you're tired, because I can't guarantee that you'll be getting much sleep tonight."

This seemed to catch his interest. "Oh? Do you have something planned?"

"That, and the fact that I've given that infernal bespectacled nut-job my number in case they needed to contact me."

"And she's been calling?"

"Every hour on the hour starting at about midnight." He sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "They're getting impatient for us to deliver on your promise."

"Tell them I'm almost done; we'll have what we need from the Hunters soon enough." That said he went back to his nap as the other left the room and again disappeared from their view. The group looking on exchanged nervous glances.

"So they're after some sort of relic? Has he been torturing his victims before he kills them because he doesn't know where it is?" Krista inquired with a shudder.

"Who knows, but it would seem they're getting close to figuring it out."

"Keep watching that; call me over if something else happens. I'm going to go and see if he left anything behind." With that Jean left the girl's dormitory where they'd set up shop behind and made his way over to the boy's dorm nearby. The items that had once sat scattered atop the dresser and on his shelf-knives and weapons, hemlock oil, a kit for repairing his gear, pictures, clothes and personal belongings-had all been taken with him out of the barracks. The drawers of the dresser were empty, entirely cleaned out, and the generic sheets supplied to all of them were folded crisply over the mattress. Damn. He was certainly thorough. But there was still one more place to look; bending down, he pulled up the bed-skirt and peered underneath it. A crumpled shape came into view; unsure of what it was, he pulled it out to examine it further. A black duffle bag, tightly zipped closed, and inside it was a rolled up and blood stained black hoodie, jeans in a similar state with rips at the knees, black converse sneakers and a pair of leather gloves. Jack pot. Getting up quickly with the duffle bags in tow, he returned to the other dorm and tossed it into the middle of the huddled group still staring at the screen. "Look at what Jӓger left underneath his bed."

"Rogue's clothing, soaked in blood." Reiner carefully sorted through the contents with a mild look of disgust on his face. "Unfortunately just this might not be enough, after all a lot of people have clothing like this-it's sold at almost every store-and ours is a bloody line of work."

"Not with what we have on the tape, though. 'We'll have what we need from the Hunters soon enough' spoken as if he wasn't one of us. As if we were the enemy. It's almost an admission!"

"Yes, almost." Armin spoke up for the first time that night. "We should wait until later to go to the superiors with what we've found. That way, we cover all our bases with as much evidence as if possible. It seems like more is going to happen tonight."

"He's right, we don't want to risk them dismissing our claims as circumstantial; such accusations, especially when thrown at other Hunters, are not taken lightly for good reason." They all returned their eyes to the screen.

"Look at him, lying there. Sleeping like a baby, entirely unaffected by what he's done." Jean sneered. "How soul-less can you be?" Almost twenty minutes passed before the doorbell rang, jolting the brunet awake.

"Eren, can you get that? Just give him the $100 bill sitting on the table by the door."

Replying with an almost nonsensical sleepy grumble the teen rolled up onto his feet and headed towards the door; it took him three trips to get all of the food through the door at which point he paid and closed it. "That's…a lot of food."

"Hn. But I've learned firsthand that you eat like a starving wildebeest." Returning to the front room from whatever corner of the apartment he'd been cleaning in, Rivaille removed the white clothe he'd used to cover his face and hair.

"Do you ever dress casually?"

"What do you mean, this is casual."

"Maybe for a suit and tie affair; this is hardly the Ritz Carlton and I'm not the President of the United States so you don't need to dress up for me."

Rivaille raised a pencil thin eyebrow. "And who said I was dressing up for you?"

"Ass!"

Thin lips momentarily twitched up into a reluctant smirk. "Self-entitled brat." Crossing the room he sat down across from the couch. "Are you going to eat or not?"

"I will, but don't sit over there!"

"You're throwing a bitch fit as if I'm a mile away and running away from you; I'm not even 24 inches away across a table."

"But reaching across the table to touch you is too much work, I'm lazy!"

"Control the impulse you hormonal shit; you need to eat before any of that goes on, and clearly I'm way too much of a distraction to sit that close to you."

"Oh, but you signed up for this. You're dating a teenager."

"No, not just dating. In the confines of my society we're considered married my shitty consort-brat." His eye brows furrowed. "I think I might have liked you better when you were a virgin and the slightest innuendo made within a mile of you turned your face bright red." To this much Eren blew a raspberry.

"You're just saying that and we both know it."

"Eat your damn food before I come over there and use these chopsticks to shove it down your throat!"

"Come and sit next to me and I will."

"Spoiled bastard," but he got up and did as he asked anyway. "Hands off until at least half of that food is gone or I will lock you out of the bedroom all night." Eren's reply was drowned in the Styrofoam bowl of sweet and sour soup he'd buried himself in, watching the other almost hawkishly over the top as he opened a box of loa mein.

"You're good with chop sticks." This made the other look up at him again.

"After you've been around for as long as I have, you get to be 'good' at a lot of trivial things. They aren't that difficult to use."

"Yes they are."

"Do you want me to teach you?"

"Yes!"

"First of all you don't hold them like that; you're going to eat with them not gouge someone's eyes out. Rest the bottom one against the crook of your thumb and grip it firmly; it's the support and doesn't move. Use your thumb and forefinger to hold the top one and maneuver it with small movements like this."

"Oh." Eren blinked in surprise. "That's a lot simpler than I thought it was."

"I have a feeling that you say that a lot." Rivaille went back to eating as Eren finished the soup and moved on to a thing of Mushu Pork. "Save some of those for me."

"If you think I am capable of eating 18 Mushu pancakes on my own you're insane!" He defended. "But, speaking of eating since we're on the subject, how long has it been since you've eaten? It's been almost two months since the last time, down in the tunnels."

"We've managed to scrape by with expired blood bags, but it will definitely be easier once we're out of this damn city!"

"You say that, and yet you look like you haven't been eating at all." Setting aside the food, he cast the other a pointed look. "You worry me when you do this; this is a dangerous time of war for us and you need to keep your strength up!"

"If I feed now it's likely you'll end up unconscious, like you did in the beginning when your body wasn't used to it and I didn't bother to restrain myself."

"And if you wait any longer you might accidently kill me." Eren pointed out starkly with all his usual stubbornness. "I would hope that you know by now that I care about you, and as such a hate to see you suffer especially when there's something in my power to relieve it. We're both to be leaders of our cause, equals, but atop your consort I am also your Supplicant and arguably this is the entire reason you kept me alive in the first place. If one of us has to be weakened then let it be me, as I have no illusion to the fact that-hunter training aside-as a Human I'm of little use."

"Don't talk like that. You're only as weak as you believe yourself to be. And though your concern is noted and understood I will not feed from you until after this mission that you've assigned yourself is over with and your back safely at my side in the Under Ground. However," he interrupted the teen before he could do more than open his mouth to speak, "Regardless of the amount that it disgusts me I will drink as much of the processed packaged blood as it takes to regain my normal strength even if the rest of them have to force it down my throat. I'll have Petra film it and send you the video if that will make you feel better." Eren just snorted. "What now?"

"Packaged and processed? Really?" he rolled his eyes. "They call it 'screening for diseases' in the medical world. I thought you liked your food to be clean."

"There's clean and then there's tasteless." Silence fell between the pair from that point. Eren finished his share of the mushu pancakes an moved on to a box of pot stickers as his companion continued picking at the noodles.

"Can I ask you something personal?"

Grey eyes swiveled up to rest on him like lead weights. "I've known you for long enough to be well aware that answering 'no' won't deter you even a single bit so I don't see why the hell not."

"It's just…what you said earlier…you lived on the street once?" For a moment after that there was only deadly silence between the two of them. Then Rivialle set aside his food and sighed.

"You spilled every last detail of your past when I asked you, so I suppose that I ought to indulge you on at least this much." For the first time he had ever seen it the other looked visibly and undeniably uncomfortable. "There were three Ackerman brothers at one point; Kenny, the eldest and only one left now, Alias who had a half-breed kid and ended up getting himself killed over it, and my father Garad. I was born in the dead of December 1515, and it was in 1520 that my parents and their coven were killed by a pack of Parisian hunters; I saw the whole thing from where I'd hidden in the closet and, once they had left and the manor was silent, I escaped into the streets of the city outside. Somehow, I survived in the cold and filth for three more years before others stumbled upon me half-dead in a drainage pipe. They realized who I was, clothed me, fed me, and brought me to my Uncle who took me in and-for the sake of appearance and propriety-called me his heir. Kenny raised me, but he never cared for me; good work was ignored and failure was brutally punished. It wasn't long after I came to live with him that, in order to protect what was left of my sanity, I stopped feeling all together. In 1832, the beginnings of Europe's Victorian Era and the United States Golden Age, I accompanied my Uncle to America. The Pure Bloods built Sina from the ground up, and many of us-myself included-have lived there ever since."

"They never bothered telling us about the other side of the war; they get us when we're young, still just children really, and paint these pictures in our heads that your kind are nothing but monsters and yet all the while in reality our two races are more alike than we are different. You're prideful, as we are, perhaps more than either of us should be at times. You're capable of feelings and compassion. You've lost just as many precious things as we have in this war. And you're suffering too."

"Wars happen. Times change. Even for us, nothing remains the same forever. Where ever my people may originally have come from and regardless of whether we belong in your world or not we've made our place here." Rivaille turned his gaze to the window; darkness had fallen completely outside. "It's high time both sides got the hell over themselves and just accepted the presence of the other because neither of us are going anywhere."

"If only it were that easy to get them to see things that way."

"Rien ne vaut la peine ne est jamais facile," a pale hand combed playfully through the other's ragged hair. "Nothing worth doing is ever easy."

"Sometimes it's weird how much you end up sounding like one of my superiors; I'm pretty sure that shit is hanging up on the walls of the academy."

"You mean the one that you desecrated?"

"Oh, come on!" Eren mewled, tossing himself over the other's lap. "I cut a few pictures off of the walls and tracked a bit of mud onto their floor. They all flipped their shit completely and it was really funny; 'oh no, the children! Protect the children from the evil Vampire Cultist Person!'" He snorted. "Like I would hurt some poor kind even if I had gotten a hold of one; I'd scare the living shit out of them sure, but I wouldn't hurt them."

"I'm sure you wouldn't; I saw how you were looking at the little brats those stuffy idiots had running around the Thorn with a mix of 'shit, they're going to turn out to be monsters just like their parents' and 'I've been overwhelmed by their demonic powers of cuteness'." He snorted. "You'd make a good father. I, on the other hand, most definitely would not."

"And why not?"

"I'd admit it flat out here and now that I'd be jealous of the little bastard who was dividing your attention away from me." Grey eyes flashed. "And you've seen me when I'm jealous."

"You say that, and yet when you actually have a kid of your own it's different."

"Oh believe me, I know. I already have one brat to deal with and he's a handful and a half."

Eren pouted. "You talk about me like I'm high maintenance."

"That's because you are." Leaning over the table he collected the emptied containers and gathered them into the enormous brown paper bag. "I'll get rid of these; go and take a shower."

The brunet seemed to wilt at that. "And I thought we were actually going to do something tonight!"

"We will," he replied, delivering a fleeting kiss to the other's cheek. "Shower first; you're covered in dust." Grumbling, Eren slunk out of the room; Rivaille quickly dispatched the bag before returning to the front and sidling up to their hidden camera. His eyes narrowed a moment before he picked it up. "The brat is right, this thing really is just flat out creepy." Crossing the room again with the statue in hand, he opened the front door and set it down on the mat outside. A grumble of 'creepy ass statue' was heard before the front door was closed behind him.

"Well, it looks like we've been shut out in the cold." Krista noted as one of the others fiddled with the controls a moment to turn the camera off. "Of course, judging from where their conversation was going, we really don't want to overhear what they're planning on doing."

"We've got enough evidence as it is at this point anyway." Ymir pointed out. "We may as well take this to the superiors now; we'll call him back to barracks in the morning to deal with him."

"Agreed."

The price of the rent that he was paying seemed to be less for how nice of an apartment he was living in and more about the area where it was located; even if it would only be for a few days at most that he'd be staying there-of this much Eren felt confident considering what he'd left for them and what they'd likely overheard with their 'subtle' hidden camera-but still it was rather difficult to deal with especially after having gotten used to the luxury of the now destroyed manor house and even the claustrophobic openness of the underground and he could only begin to imagine how Rivaille must think of it. After having been subjected to a thorough cleaning it wasn't quite dingy but it wasn't clean either; the grout was closer to grey than white, the tiles covering the walls were yellowed and the shower head was rusted near to the point of being useless; the water had to all but fight through the red-brown cap of grit which had formed over the little spigots to come through in a stream that was-at best-luke warm. The gentle touch of a cold hand to the small of his back was unexpected and made him jump; turning around he was met with the other's cool greyish gaze. Levi's true black hair was damp with the moisture with which the shower had infused the air and a few of the droplets which bounced onto him from the other's body were running down over the lunar white skin which clad his well-built form.

"So this is what you had in mind?" he snickered with a grin, the water suddenly seeming a little bit warmer.

"Not entirely, at least not originally. But, as I'm sure we both figured when they all but forced the damn thing into your hands there was a camera hidden in that statue. They overheard everything said and you'll likely be taken in within the next few days." Long fingers traced lightly along the arch of his defined cheek bones. "I wanted to make a point of spending every possible moment in your company in case…"

Eren leaned into the other's touch, reaching up with one hand to hold it there. "Nothing is going to go wrong, I promise you that. I'm here to stay."

"I'm holding you to that promise brat, so you'd better not break it." Soft kisses were placed along his jawline, increasing in frequency and aggression as the other's lips made their way to Eren's and soon the teen lost his balance in the face of his lover's assault on him. His back collided with a thud with the cold wet tile on the wall where he promptly found himself caged in by strong arms. Chest pressed to chest, hearts beating in sync as gentle nips were pressed into the soft flesh of the side of his throat; blood was drawn from a shallow cut and he swiftly liquid the scarlet liquid away before it could start to run, relishing the other's vintage as his neglected thirst screamed and sent his desire skyrocketing even higher as Eren's heady musk overwhelmed his senses.

"I know that you are and I'm not worried over it at all, because I know I won't have any trouble keeping it." Warm, calloused fingers came up from beneath skimming over the buzzed portion of his hair before threading themselves into the silken-now drenched-locks higher up to make the other purr. "I still think you should feed, Levi."

The older man withdrew to gaze at him with an immoveable stubbornness etched on his face. "And waste the rest of the night with you unconscious? I think not." He went back to suckling at his neck, savor the sweetness of the wet skin.

"But surely by now your thirst is driving your crazy."

"I'd suffer more if we don't get this out of both our systems, believe me. Now shut up about all of the stupid shit, I don't want to hear your voice again unless you're moaning." A toothy grin pressed into the seam of neck and shoulder when Rivialle caught sight of the faint blush painted high across the other's cheek bones. "That's better."

"Sometimes you can be such a pushy-oh God!"

"Pushy bastard, am I?" he repeated in amusement, gently gliding his hand down the teen's half-hard shaft a second time. "You're hardly the first person to ever call me that, and I suppose that I'd be forced to admit that such an observation about me is nothing more than the brutally honest truth. Though, from the sound of things, you don't find that overly off putting." Another delicious whine escaped the boy's wet parted lips. "You're such an eye sore, Eren."

"Not that you find that overly off putting." Eren managed to reply through the absolute distraction that was the shorter man currently standing in front of him with a smirk on his face. To the other's surprise, he boldly reached down with his own hands to release himself from the other's grasp. "That said, I feel guilty that the two times we've done this in the past you'd get me off first before attending to yourself. So I'd like to try something a bit different tonight if you don't mind."

"Something different? Just what did you have in mind, brat?"

Eren used his height to his advantage to squirm from beneath him and instead pin the other against the wall where he'd been only moments before. "You'll see." The taller brunet proceeded to kneel down in front of him and wrap his arms around his waist, kissing his way down the raven's chest and stomach but just as it seemed obvious where he was going Eren bypassed his rapidly growing member in favor of tormenting his sensitive inner thighs.

"Damn it brat, I only have so much patience!"

The other's laugh sent a breath of hot air rushing across sensitive skin, making his arousal almost painful. Teal eyes sparkled up at him from beneath long brown bangs. "Well fine, I'll get on with things if you absolutely must insist Maitré." The grin appeared for only the most fleeting moment before the sinful lips wrapped around his throbbing member all without the younger breaking eye contact. Even after all 500+ years of his very long life this had to be up amongst the most erotic things he'd ever seen, the brunet looking up at him through half-lidded eyes as he stroked and suckled, bobbing his head hollowing his cheeks and nipping gently and all the while swirling that damned tongue around the head purring like a cat and sending delicious vibrations crashing through his very core. His legs were weak, breathing ragged, one hand tangled in the chocolate tresses with the other spasming against the wall on which he was now relying to remain upright.

"D-Damn it, brat!" He panted, unable to look away. "Don't swallow until I tell you to, do you t-think you can manage that?" Eren nodded slightly as he continued his administrations at a faster tempo until the raven could take no more. Eren withdrew once confident he was finished before looking up at his expectantly with his cheeks puffed out much like a chipmunks. "You're not the only one who wants to try something different tonight, but we don't have any lube so we're going to have to improvise. Spit that out into your hand." The boy immediately did as he was told. "You'll do what I tell you?" Eren nodded in response. "Good. Lay down and finger yourself for now; I'll watch." A look of confusion came to adorn his face but he didn't question the elder's intentions and followed the instructions he'd been given without a word. Rivaille observed him languorously as Eren reached down between his spread legs and searched blindly for a moment before locating his entrance and hesitantly pushing one finger up into the warm tightness of his own body. "Keep going; surely one isn't the best that you can do brat." A second finger and then a third were added in quick succession; too quickly, apparently, because the teen made a small sound of discomfort and retracted it almost immediately and waited until he'd better prepared himself before trying again. The sight of the other-lying on his back in the bottom of the tub, red faced with legs spread as he impaled himself on his fingers, was more than enough to get him riled up again. "That's enough Eren. Come here." It was almost with reluctance that he withdrew his hand and crawled over to where Levi was sitting propped against the wall.

"I think I can guess," Eren smirked, "but tell me if I'm wrong."

"I don't know, that all depends on what you're 'guessing'." The sarcastic reply just made the smirk bigger as he crawled onto the other's lap. "Are you sitting down or not? I'm aware we have all night, but I'd prefer to spend at least some of it in bed." Rolling his eyes Eren shook his head at him but complied with his demands. "Careful," gently hands came to rest on the flaring ridges of his hips to rub soothing circles into the sensitive flesh as he guided him downwards into a straddling position, "if you go too fast you'll hurt yourself." Eren let out a soft hiss, lowering his head into the crook of Rivaille's neck once the other was sheathed all the way up to the hilt in his core. "Are you alright?"

"This is our third time, Levi. I'm starting to get used to it." He replied with a slightly strained voice, face still hidden. "Just move; it will go away faster that way." A soft comforting kiss was placed on his exposed cheek as the elder started a rhythm of slow deep thrusts. Eren's back arched, his body tensing as his grip on Rivaille's shoulders tightened. "Fuck!"

"Did I hurt you?"

He shook his head, raising his face just slightly from where it had been hidden. "No. You feel amazing, please don't stop!" His grip tightened even more and a muffled yell escaped him as he found the most sensitive point inside him. "No matter how many times we do this you'll always feel so good Levi!"

"You're not bad yourself brat," he snorted, resuming his earlier attack on Eren's neck as the younger panted for air. "You're warm and tight and feel like silk. And it makes it all the better for me to know that I'm the only one who will ever know what it feels like to be inside you like this." Any response the teen might have made had been reduced to whimpers at that point as his own thrusts began to become sloppier and faster nearing another release and he reached down with one hand to stroke the other's neglected length in tandem. It wasn't even moments later that the boy broke, splattering both their chests with his release and as his inner walls tightened even further around him Rivaille was dragged over the edge right along with him. The pair rode out the ecstasy of their high together before Eren collapsed against the other's chest and for a long while both remained there trying to recover themselves.

"So much for getting clean in a shower," he panted, making the raven laugh.

"There's still hope brat, never you worry." Rivaille replied, gently pulling himself free of the other's body before getting to his feet. "The good thing about never having warm water in the first place is that it can't get any colder." That said he gently proceeded to clean them both when the boy revealed himself to be too exhausted to do so himself. Once this was finished he dried them both and then carried Eren bridal style over to the bed without bothering to redress and slid under the sheets; the teen immediately snuggled as close to his companion as he could get before placing his head on his chest and closing his eyes but as Rivaille began gently stroking his hair he could tell that the other was not yet asleep. "I know that you're tired Eren, but there is something that I have been meaning to ask you for a while." A sleepy grumble was given as reply to show that he was listening. "You were a hunter once. That on top of everything else that has happened to you at the hands of my kind taken into account I realize that you are likely to be reluctant to agree and I completely understand if you are hesitant or need some time to think about it. With the amount of my venom that is already inside of your body from all the times I've bitten you all it would take is a single mouthful of my blood."

"To what?" he was instantly fully awake, propping himself up on his forearms and blinking at him with alert eyes. "Are you suggesting that I become a Turned?"

"Yes." He replied bluntly. "You are perfectly capable of defending yourself but as a Human your ability to shrug off damage is all but non-existent. For my own peace of mind, for your safety, I'm…pleading with you to consider this. I won't tell you that it will be pleasant or that it will be easy for you because it won't, but I'll be there for you every step of the way to teach you what you need to know and we'll provide blood for each other so hunting won't be much of an issue. Eren-."

"No."

"Brat, you listen here!"

"No, Levi." A warm gentle embrace wound itself around his head, gently pulling him against his familiar warmth. "But not because I don't want to."

"Then why?" this brat really knew how to not make any sense what-so-ever. "Tell me, why?"

"Because our idea of the Legion is a Council of Three representatives isn't it? Erwin for the Turned, you for the Pure Bloods and me for the Humans." He replied. "How can I rightfully call myself the representative power of the Humans if I'm no longer one myself?"

"We'll find someone else to be the Human's representative then!"

"Maybe doing that would be safe after a decade or so of us being in power seeing as the only really capable candidate of replacing me would be another Hunter and I'd really rather not run the risk of waking up dead in the middle of the night if you get my meaning."

"So you're saying that you will consider it? That this isn't an indefinite no?"

"In a few years, yes. I'll allow you to turn me." Eren said, snuggling back closer again. "Please don't think that I don't want this because I do; I want to be able to be with you for the rest of your eternal life. Just not now."

"Then have things your way, brat. But you should really get some sleep, you'll likely have a big day tomorrow."

"Mm." His eyes fluttered closed and the warmth of sleep surrounded him but it seemed like almost immediately that the shrill ringing of his cellphone woke them both up. Levi released Eren from his hold, rolled onto his front and buried his face in the pillow to shield himself from the noise as much as possible while the ten scrambled to answer it. "Armin? Isn't it a little bit early to be calling; did something happen?" A look of embarrassed shock spread across his face. "What do you mean it's 2 in the afternoon? Yeah, I just…kinda woke up. Come to the barracks? Yeah, I'll be right there."

"Leaving, are you brat?" his voice was muffled in the mound of fluff.

"Yeah," snapping the phone shut he leapt out of bed and hurriedly went to the suitcase standing in the corner in search of something to wear; settling for a green t-shirt and jeans he threw them on quickly before sliding a sheathed dagger into the waistband and hiding it under his shirt. "Looks like you were right; everything is going down today. You'd best leave pretty soon as well, considering that they're likely to come looking here after my arrest."

"I'll be gone by then, never fear brat." A pale hand gently caught his own and the raven turned his head to place a careful kiss on the delicate skin of the inside of his wrist. "I know that you won't be one to go down without a fight but try not to get yourself too beaten up. We'll be moving on Althalaxx almost immediately after retrieving the sword so that we can seal the deal with the Turned."

"No promises, but I'll try my best." That said he pulled on a light jacket to keep out the cold of the turning spring and trotted out the door.


	16. Caught Me, Have You?

**Wow that last chapter was really long so this one is going to end up a little short. Sorry guys. .**

Jean and Reiner stood together at the window of the dorms, watching as the familiar figure made its way across the sparing greens towards the barracks. It was warmer than it had been in recent days outside but still cold, as was clearly evidenced by the thin jacket that he wore draped over his shoulders with his head bowed against the wind which was pushing the ragged cut bangs of his dark hair into his face.

"How much do you want to bet he knows what's coming; surely by this point he had realized his mistake."

"He's definitely realized that he left something behind," Reiner agreed, "but he may assume we haven't found it."

"And how likely do you figure it is that he'll keep up his little innocence façade?"

"Oh, that one is a certainty. We'll just have to see how he reacts to our little surprise." Nodding in agreement the ash blonde turned with the other towards the door just as it swung open to reveal Eren, Mikasa and Armin.

"I still don't understand why the hell all of this cloak and dagger bull shit is necessary! If you have something you need to tell me then just spit it the fuck out already!"

"We're here to tell you to confess, Eren! Or maybe we should just flat out call you Rogue?" Jean snapped, dumping the duffle's contents onto the ground at his feet. "We know about everything you traitorous son of a bitch! We have you consorting with your leech master on video! We've shown all of it to our superiors already! You are going to be executed no matter what you try, so just make it easier on yourself and give up!"

"Confess?" he repeated, the look of stunned shock smoothing over into a soul-chilling glare as his voice turned hollow. "Fine, if it will really make you feel some sort of fleeting sense of victory. Yes, I've turned my back on the whole lot of you moon-eyed lemming idiots just the same as he has the Pure Bloods under his Uncle's rule! Yes, I am Rogue. Yes, I intend to tear your precious order apart brick by brick and if I have to kill every single one of you to do it then I will. No, I feel no remorse over it because everything that I do from this point forwards and everything that I have done already is all for the sake of Humanity and our invisioned better world where both our races can finally live in peace together! After all, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few dozen eggs."

"Eren!" Mikasa yelped, looking horrified by the words that had just come out of her brother's mouth as she took a step away from him. "Tell me that you're joking!"

"Oh no Mikasa, I am _deadly_ serious."

"But why? After what happened to your parents, what happened to me, how could you ever break the oaths you've taken!? How could you do this to us?!"

"Those oaths that you fools cling to so desperately are little more than empty words and false promises! Tell me Mikasa, did the Light save your parents? Did they save mine? Did faith protect me when I was tortured by him? Did praying bring anyone back from the dead? No! I've taken new, better oaths and am sworn in blood to the night! To a new cause! One with concrete goals and immediate returns! And if any of you have even the slightest semblance of a sentient and self-thinking brain then you will follow my example; break your chains and join me!"

"The Vampires murdered your parents right in front of us! Your mother! Your father! They died protecting you! Knowing that, how can you stand on their side? And how can you proclaim undying loyalty to the Military Police when you're wearing Grisha's key around your neck!"

"_My loyalty is and always will be to the Legion and the Wings of Freedom!"_ He spat furiously, blood in his eyes. "_And don't you see that what happened to my family is why I'm doing this? My parents slaughtered when I was just a little boy, my childhood robbed from me and hatred implanted in my heart! Rivaille and I share much the same past; his entire coven was cut down when he was only five! We're doing this together because we have no other choice! Because we both want to see to it that what happened to us never happens to anyone else ever again! Kenny is a part of the problem and must be done away with but so is the Hunter Sect! You refuse to adapt yourselves to the truth so I have no choice but to destroy you so that this war can finally end!"_

"Oh Eren, he has you dancing on strings. Can't you see that what you're doing is wrong?"

"It no longer makes a difference if he sees the light or not, Mikasa. It's too late." Armin pointed out sadly. "Mercy will no longer be taken on him."

"Give up; come quietly and we won't have to hurt you, Jӓger." Reiner growled, taking a menacing step forwards towards him. "Resisting will only make things worse."

"My arrest won't stop the Legion."

"But it will stop you; we've had enough of your rampage!"

"…" a moment passed before he hung his head and held out his hands. "I'll come quietly but on one condition; she cuffs me. That way I won't have to worry that I'll be flogged when an involuntary twitch is mistaken as resistance."

The four exchanged nervous glances before Jean sighed. "Fine," he handed the cuffs over to her. "Make sure you cuff him tight enough that he can't slip out of them." Taking them, she stepped forward and reached for his wrist; in a lightning fast movement he wrapped his forearm around her neck before drawing the knife that he'd had hidden at his side and pressing the blade against her throat. "A hostage? How kind of you! I'll take my leave now."

"Sorry Eren, but you aren't going anywhere." Turning his head slightly he caught sight of Marco in his peripheral vision and sneered.

"Oh? Well, that's a real shame. I guess I'll just have to kill her then. But where should I put the knife?" His green eyes narrowed dangerously again. "There are just _so_ many choices!"

"You'd kill her?" Armin yelped, looking horrified. "Eren, she's your sister! Your family! Think of what you're doing!"

"My sister? No, she isn't; we were raised together sure but she's not my blood. Killing her won't be any different to me than killing anyone else." He replied, entirely unruffled. "Since I'm not going anywhere, at least according to the lot of you, you could at least have the decency to help me choose where the blade should go? I'm sure you can understand that it's a rather momentous decision to have to make for my-**_SHIT!_**" A loud thud as the heel of Mikasa's combat boots crushed his toes, causing him to release his hold from the shock of the sudden pain, and a round house kick from the former captive sent him flying back into the dorm room wall at which point the weapon went flying out of his hand. "Bitch!"

"Grab him! Grab him and knock him before he tries something else!" Jean and Reiner both dove for him only to have their slippery quarry to slither between them and leap for the door all but bowling Marco over in the process of reaching the hallway beyond. "Shit, he's making a break for it!"

"Get back here you coward!"

"He's going the wrong way; aren't the doors at that end of the hallway always kept locked?"

"You'd figure he'd know that after having been one of us for four years; unfortunate for him."

By now the ruckus had drawn the others of the 104th out of their dorms and soon they had Eren hopelessly cornered at the end of the hallway with his back pressed up against a locked door and his eyes darting left and right in a desperate search for any avenue of escape that might be left only to find none.

"Terrifying to be cornered isn't it? Maybe now you have some small idea of what your victims felt just before you so callously stole their lives!"

"Casualties, Horesface, are the cost of war!"

"Yeah? Well, you'll be one of them. Make sure to give us Rivaille's new address before we chop your head off so we can send it to him in a gift wrapped box." Amber eyes turned to the blonde who had held the other in a silent lionian stare from the moment she'd emerged from her room. "Care to do the honors Annie? We all remember how you put him on his ass in training."

She didn't answer, but pushed passed him to approach the hostile figure; she stopped a few feet out of reach but his eyes were immediately riveted on her. "To think that you used to be the most driven to destroy them out of all of us. That you were considered one of the best Hunters not just to come out of Rose Academy but in the order's history. To think that they all said you would go on to great things. Look at what you've become, Eren. What that bastard turned you into."

"How is it that you presume to speak to me about what you don't know the slightest about?"

"I know all that I need to."

"Sure," he snarled, lips dragging back over perfect white teeth. "If you really think that you can single handedly beat me into submission then come try! A lot has changed since training." He watched her worriedly, adjusting his position to keep his back protected against the wall even as she tried to circle around behind him. Resting the majority of his weight on his heels to put his center of gravity low he sprang for her the moment she was within reach but Annie responded with a sweeping kick which took his legs out from underneath him; Eren hit the floor with a winded crash and tried to get up only for a brutal kick to the face to send him back sprawling unconscious. "Much has changed since training? Doesn't seem like it."

"I'm shocked that you're surprised, he wasn't exactly known for retaining things." Ymir said, leaving the others to join Annie as she stood over his unconscious form. "I think the lot of you had better hurry if you're going to go back to that apartment; the Vampire isn't going to sit around and wait for you forever."

"She's right," Marco said. "I'm sure that they can handle dragging Eren to his cell without us, especially considering that he looks like he'll be out cold for quite a while. You, Reiner Berthold and I should head out to the apartment right away."

Jean nodded. "You're right." He turned to the other two. "Are you ready?"

"Let's go; no point in wasting time." They left the barracks at a run; not bothering to hail a cab they shot off the hooks of their gear and swung up to rush across the rooftops to reach their destination faster.

"Weapons out; be ready for a fight! Let's not forget what we're facing here." The door buckled beneath a stiff kick, swinging open to bang against the opposite wall and the four rushed inside. "Split up and search the entire apartment, we have no idea where he could be hiding and definitely don't want to end up in a disadvantageous situation!" Their boot steps rattled against the wooden floor of the dark and silent apartment. The rooms were empty, all of the items Eren had brought with him vanished alongside his companion.

"Anything?" Jean demanded as they regrouped in the front room.

"No."

"Nothing; Rivaille doesn't seem to care that much about Eren after all. He certainly got the hell out of dodge pretty damn fast."

"And there's no signs of where he may have gone to," Marco said. "Nothing left behind and no clues as to…wait." having caught sight of a small folded piece of paper sitting on the coffee table he bent and picked it up. "What's this?"

"Who knows; open it."

"Right." Hesitating for just a moment longer he unfolded the slip of paper and spread it out for the others to see; a note. Penned in a careful hand in dark black ink were two words.

**Nice Try.**


	17. Bonjour Petit Cousin

**Translations –**

** Gamine - Girly**

The sound of their hotel room door opening drew their attention from the game of chess they'd been entertaining for just over in hour in time for Farlan and Isabelle to see Rivaille-black hair wind-blown and sleep rumpled and clad in nothing but a white bathrobe-walk brusquely inside.

"Had a good time last night, did we?" the honey brunet inquired with a small snicker, blinking knowingly at the other. "I see that, despite spending the past 12 hours with Eren, you still haven't fed."

"I won't risk weakening him when he's in such a precarious position, and I was right not to. They took him in today; I barely made it out the fucking back door before they busted the front one down." He replied, raking his fingers through his hair.

"They have Eren in custody?" Farlan repeated with a look of surprise.

"I hadn't realized I'd been speaking Chinese; didn't I just say that dipshit?"

"Do you know how long they're going to hold him before the execution?"

He nodded. "A ball park figure as according to the brat; no less than 24 and no more than 72 hours depending on how long it takes their headsman to get here from the Vatican. Reportedly only the one charged with performing the sect's executions-be it for treason or otherwise-is the only one who knows the proper handling of the Hand after it has been removed from its wards."  
"You already have a plan, don't you Rivi?" Isabelle asked with an enormous smile.

"Yes, I do, and you'll see what it is soon enough. For now, we keep a close eye out; we'll need to be ready to act at a moment's notice."

"The apartment was empty when you got there?"

Marco nodded. "Yes, he'd fled by the time that we got there and taken all of Eren's things with him. But he left this behind." He passed her the note. "The ink was still not completely dry when we found it, so we know Rivaille hadn't been gone for very long by the time we got there."

Taking the note, Mikasa unfolded the paper and read it for herself. "'Nice try'?"

"He knew we were coming," he said grimly. "And, to make matters worse, we figure he'll come back. Either to attempt to rescue Eren, or to seek vengeance for his execution."

"I hope that he does, because I'll see to it that he finally gets what he deserves for all that he has done." Crumpling the paper up into a ball, she tossed it across the room. "He's already broken his spirit and used his body for sick pleasure, I'll die before I allow that Evil Dwarf to take his soul too!"

"You're strong Mikasa, I don't doubt that, but so was Eren. If you go diving into contact with Rivaille alone you could end up the same way. We both know the man that your brother used to be would never want anything like that to happen to you."

"I can't just let that bastard get away with it Marco."

"It's hard, I know, but ours is a cruel world. Eren's execution will serve the laws of our Order but that doesn't mean that justice will be done. That doesn't mean Rivaille will be punished. We may never catch him."

"I'll be damned if I don't!" She snapped back with a deep frown. "Has there been any word on when the headsman will get here?"

"Shouldn't be long now. It's already been close to 60 hours since we brought him in." He replied. "Have you gone to see him? Eren has been conscious for a while but he won't eat anything and is refusing to speak; when the Superiors tried to question him all he did was spit."

"No, I haven't been down to see him and I'm not planning on doing so," her hand came to rest gently on the thin red cut still visible on her throat. "He's not my brother, not anymore. Not Eren. The only one they have locked up in that cell in the basement is Rogue."

"Are you going to attend his execution?"

Once again she shook her head. "No. My brother isn't there anymore, that's true, but that doesn't mean I want to see him die."

"They'll burn him as a traitor unless you say something against it. It doesn't bother you at all that he'll be desecrated. Denied final rights?"

"My brother died months ago and we gave him a proper funeral. His soul is already at rest. So no, it doesn't bother me."

A soft knock on the door of the library pulled the pair out of their conversation; looking up they found Armin standing in the doorway. "Shadis wants to speak to everyone in the 104th immediately concerning the matter of the execution; the headsman is here."

"Right," pushing back their chairs the pair followed the blonde back to the door of their direct superior's office. Armin knocked quietly and they walked in after being told to enter. Inside they found their superior sitting behind his desk, the rest of their regiment already present and a trio of unfamiliar figures-a tall honey brunet man with wary grey eyes and a focused gaze, a petit red haired woman with green eyes and an evident inability to sit still for longer than three seconds and a small statured man whose features were concealed beneath a hooded traveling cloak and white face mask. Despite being able to see little of him aside from his height, there was something about him that was very familiar.

"-all respect due and needed it may surprise you to know that there are a great deal of other pressing matters to which I must attend and as such I would like to get this over with as soon as possible. Bring out the boy and the sword and let's get this over and done with."

"The soonest possible it can be done is at dawn; we've preparations that must be made and-need I remind you-we have a protocol that must be followed."

"Tch!" The short man growled. "I'm sick to death of protocol, but have things your way if you absolutely must! Dawn is in two hours; if we can do it then, than do it. I've a flight to catch."

"Of course." Their superior's eyes focused on them. "You lot, start seeing to it that the necessary parties are notified to start the preparations. Bodt, escort the headsman and his entourage to their rooms."

"Yes, sir!" They dispersed to their respective assignments immediately, Marco leaving the familiarity of the group to approach the newcomers.

"Follow me, please. Your rooms are this way." The trio followed him in silence; his two companions promptly disappeared into their rooms but the headsman frowned and looked about as if searching for something. "Anything that I can help you with sir?"

"Aye, perhaps there is. Does there happen to be a balcony or deck of sorts around here?"

"Oh, y-yes of course. Right this way." He lead him out onto a nearby balcony and watched warily as the other went about searching his pockets until he located what he was looking for; a small white box which was immediately extracted. Opening the top, he held it out to him.

"Care for one, brat?"

Cigarettes. He grimaced, holding up a hand to refuse as politely as was possible. "I'm only 17 so it isn't legal. And…I don't smoke."

"Funny; my bratty boyfriend doesn't either." Taking off the mask revealed a face which was surprisingly youthful, cold grey eyes and exceedingly pale skin almost to the point of being blueish in tint. Dragging one out with long deft fingers he set it between his thin lips before lighting the end with a handheld metal lighter. "It's a filthy, filthy habit brat. I kicked it, I kicked it long ago, but I always keep a pack and lighter on me. For times of stress. And Devil knows this is a time of stress." A long deep pull before a stream of grey smoke spewed from one corner of his lips like the jaws of a dragon. "But everything should be over fairly soon. I hold out hope for that; to maintain what sanity I may have left after all these oh so many years."

"Well, we all have to have faith right?"

"Faith?" his expression twisted upwards into a reluctant closed mouth smile. "Yes, I suppose it is a necessary thing though one that many find difficult to hold onto."

"Faith and hope are the most necessary weapons of hunters like us."

"Faith is difficult to hold on to and Hope is difficult to come into the possession of. After all, it was the only thing left in Pandora's box when she slammed down the lid and there's no reason for any of us to believe that it isn't still locked up tight."

"You know, you're a very grim man."

A steely gaze fixed him in a very odd look before replying "I'm an executioner by occupation, what did you expect sunshine and lollipops?"

"I suppose that's a good point," suddenly it seemed like a rather stupid thing to have said. "Would it be improper, sir, to ask you about the Hand? You're specially trained in how to handle it…and I'm curious."

"Hn." He grunted, flicking the smoked-to-the-butt cigarette away and replacing it with another almost immediately. "I won't be able to answer any of your questions brat."

"What? Why not?"

"Why not? Because in actuality I don't know any more about the Hand than you do; the Hand of Raziel hasn't once been taken from its casings in nearly three centuries. What did you expect that we headsman did? Held sparing practices with it?"

"Well…no." His expression fell slightly. "I just thought that you might know more about it than the average Hunter."

"You're the first idealistic little shit I've ever had to deal with; honestly, I really thought that I'd be used to this by now." Pulling a glass flask from beneath his cloak he uncorked it and took a swig; when he lowered it a dark liquid lingered on his lips. "Listen here brat, and listen well because I don't plan on repeating myself, the teachings of the Hand are a lot like that shitty school yard game Telephone; everything is passed down through word of mouth, not a single thing written down. The first person says it to the second, who gets it right when he passes it on to the third, but the third embellishes one little detail and the fourth, in turn, another and by the time it comes back around the original information is all fucked up and indecipherable as what it once was. But that's just how things are; we can't go back in time and change them, so we've no choice but to except the reality as what it is." Replacing the cork he again flicked the cigarette away before straightening his clothing and resituating the mask on his face. "I'll retire now; you ought to do the same. It's well passed your bed time brat." That said he turned and walked back inside, leaving a rather surprised Marco standing alone in the unpleasantly chilly night. Back in his room Rivaille didn't sleep. There was really no point with only an hour's time before the 'execution' was to occur. And even if there had been days or even weeks to sleep before hand he wouldn't have been able to close his eyes for more than a few moments, not with thoughts of Eren miserably curled up bruised and bloody on a metal cot, shivering without so much as a blanket beneath his very feet. So he didn't sleep. He didn't even try. Forgoing the bed completely to remain cold and untouched he paced for a while before relapsing into chain smoking out the window, whittling cigarette after cigarette down to the filter before tossing the butts away and picking up another one. He wouldn't be there long enough for the acrid stubs to both him so there was really no point in trying to be tidy. By the time the little blonde woman with blue eyes-she introduced herself as Krista-came to get him he swore that he was soon to go stir crazy.

"Please make your way down to the court yard Sir. I don't mean any offense by reminding you of protocol but our superiors would prefer you be out there before the prisoner is brought out."

"I'll collect myself and set out immediately; inform them that I will be there momentarily." She left him immediatel and he turned from the door, picking his way through the mine filed of rolled paper refuse to don his cloak and gloves and the mask that hid his face before assembling the last visages of his act and heading out into the hallway.

"Mikasa, stop pacing."

She stopped dead in her tracks and stood still for a moment before turning sharply on her heal to face him; slumped forwards over the table in the library at which he sat, a cup of warm tea clutched in between his hands as he eyes drooped closed; neither of them had slept at all in the past 48 hours. "I'm sorry Armin, I just can't sit still."

"I know. Eren…he'll be dead in just over five minutes. It's hard for me to, but he was your brother-."

"That _thing_ is _not_ my brother!" The near shout made him jump, the china cup rattling in its saucer and tea sloshing out onto the table top. "Besides it's not about him. It's about that so-called 'Headsman'."

"He is rather odd." He agreed, mopping up some of the tea that had splattered onto the table with a handkerchief. "And oddly familiar."

"So you thought so too?" he nodded. "A hooded cloak indoors?"

"A traveling cloak; it is still rather cold outside at night and he did just arrive here when we saw him."

"A face mask?"

"Chopping heads off is a rather bloody line of work; protects his face from spatter I'm sure."

"Gloves?"

"Better grip on the blade so that it doesn't slip."

"Or so that the sacred metal doesn't burn his hands off." She snorted, resuming pacing. "I just can't figure out where I've seen him before but I know that I have!" The height. The pride that practically oozed from his every pore. The black hair. The dark, articulate, stoic, calm voice. And then it hit her. The grocer. Both seemed to realize the reality at exactly the same moment; the 'Headsman' was Rivaille. "We have to get our gear and stop them! They were after the Hand all along!"

The light drizzle that had been falling through the darker hours of the morning had transformed into an incessant cataract by the time that the dawn had begun to lighten the sky, soaking the stone tiled courtyard and the raised wooden stage which had been hastily erected for just one purpose. The entirety of the inhabitants of the barracks-at least so far as he could tell from his position at the front of the crowd-had come out of from their warm soft beds to bear witness to the spectacle of what they believed to be an execution. Not if he had anything to say about it, and considering that he would be holding the sword he liked to think that that final say was his. Through the slits of the white mask secured over his face his storm grey eyes flickered to the pair of Hunters who were dragging Eren across the courtyard towards him; he had to fight down a surge of rage at the sight of his face-badly bruised-and hands-bound behind his back painfully tight-as he tripped and stumbled at the behest of his captors before being thrown to his knees on the stage at which point a burlap bag was secured over his head.

"I'll take a moment to speak to him; allow his last words to be formally heard." Turning his back on the crowd he crouched down beside Eren. "Can you move your hands at all?" he didn't respond with words but after a momentary struggle managed to turn his hands enough in their bindings to grip the small hand blade he was passed from its place hidden in Rivaille's sleeve. "You know what to do with that, I presume?" he could imagine Eren rolling his enormous eyes as he started quickly but covertly sawing through the thick rope. "Are you alright, Mon Cheri?"

A small sigh was heard before a quiet voice made its way out from within the bag. "I'm better now that you're here, Levi."

"It will be over soon. Don't worry." He rose and turned back to the crowd, resuming the act. "Bring forth the Hand."

One of the superiors, as the brats in Eren's squad referred to them, walked forwards with the sword-the blade wrapped in a thin layer of cloth-to him. So that was it. The Hand of Raziel. He took a step forwards to the edge of the wooden stage and reached for it; his as his gloved fingers closed around the hilt the door burst open and the two missing members of the 104th-both in full gear-spilled out into the court yard.

"_No! Stop him!"_

Just at that moment Eren broke free of his restraints and leapt to his feet, ripping the bag off of his head and tossing it away along with the hand blade he'd been smuggled. "You have a plan I hope, Rivaille?"

"Can it, shitty brat! Take this!" He all but threw the sword into his chest, leaving Eren to fumble with it in surprise. "Farlan, Isabelle, give the signal! Deal with them for long enough for us to get away!" They appeared like gargoyles on the roof tops, red eyes and fangs bared as they lept down onto the shocked Hunters below. Chaos erupted immediately as they scrambled to arm themselves. Rivaille grabbed Eren by the back of his shirt and leapt into the air, digging his talons into the side of the barracks scaled the vertical wall like a spider, tossing him over it before climbing up onto the roof himself. "Will you be able to make it over roof tops in that state without gear?"

Eren nodded somewhat unsteadily, clutching the cloth-wrapped blade closer against his chest. "I can, but I won't be able to make it very far."

"We don't have to make it far, just a few blocks. We'll take the sewer systems to Maria from there." Rivaille gave a reassuring squeeze of the hand before leaping onto a nearby roof and taking off running, leaving Eren no choice but to follow after. The cold night air rushing through his hair and around his body. The rain slicked concrete splashing beneath their feet. The burning in his abused muscles as he pushed his body onwards through exhaustion until the other decided it was safe enough to stop. "It ought to be alright to rest a moment here; catch your breath while we can aimee." Eren was too winded to answer, sinking down onto his hands and knees in a shaking panting mess. They'd gotten out. Gotten away. They were safe, or at least as safe as they ever would be until their goals were reached. The fighting was far enough away now that the sounds of battle were non-existent even to his ears; all that he could here were the wind and the rain and…he leapt clear just in time to avoid the well executed stealth attack from another nearby rooftop, throwing one arm up to shield his mouth and nose from the dust that had been kicked up and squinting in a desperate attempt to see. Where was Eren? He could hear him calling out to him in alarm and he sounded uninjured but he just wasn't sure if he'd been knocked clear or if he was still kneeling where he'd been. And where was their attacker? Left; more dust. Right; more dust. Straining his ears for the slightest sound as rain pounded down on his shoulders he still came up with nothing.

"Ahh!" With a cry of rage a raven haired figure flew out of the dust cloud with both blades drawn back, swinging at him with all the force that he body could muster and forcing him to dive clear again. Two three foot blades in her hands and all that he had were his claws; looks like he'd be on the defensive in this round. Marvelous. "Bastard! I'll kill you for what you've done!" She lunged forward again but he moved just shy of her strike, driving his foot into the small of her back to exercise her forward momentum to his advantage and send her over the edge of the building but she recovered using her gear and flew at him again from another angle.

_She's good._ He thought as he once more ducked beneath a blow. Black hair. Pale skin like a china doll's. Grey eyes. "You must be Mikasa."

"Who I am makes no difference to you!" She snarled back, continuing her onslaught without pause. "My name won't matter much in a few minutes when you're lying on the ground dying in a puddle of your own blood!"

"If either of us is going to die here today, I can assure you that it won't be me gamine." He knew that she was Eren's sister but there was something about her that was familiar for an entirely different reason; something about her features. A well timed blow nearly knocked one of her blades out of her hands but she recovered and slashed at him again; the mask on his face fell away into two pieces, clattering to the ground with a hollow sound. But the dust was beginning to clear now; he would use this to his advantage. "What are you after?"

"Someone has to see to it that you pay for what you did to my brother, you filthy blood sucking demon! As the #1 graduate of Rose Academy and Eren Jӓger's sister I'm here to recover the sword that will be used at his execution and destroy you so that I can restore his honor as a Hunter! You destroyed my family, so now I am going to destroy you!" This was his opening; she left herself open this time and he grabbed her by the throat, her blades clattering to the ground as he lifted her off his feet before throwing her across the roof. She hit the ground hard, bouncing up off the hard concrete before lying there dazed. Arming himself with her dropped weapons he advanced towards her at a menacingly slow pace; running footsteps approached from off to one side and the next thing either of them knew Eren had thrown himself between them with his arms spread defensively.

"Rivaille stop, please! She's my sister!"

"I'm not going to hurt her, brat. I just have something to say, and I'm holding on to these so that she doesn't get any more stupid ass ideas." Eren hesitated for a moment further, but then lowered his arms and allowed the shorter man to continue approaching her; his foot came down on her chest hard enough to pin her there but just shy of causing pain and he glared down at her, eyes glowing red and fangs on full display. "I hadn't considered the possibility that Alias' child had survived. Then again, considering that my brat had a hand in things and that Reiss' subordinates were even dumber then than they are now I probably shouldn't be surprised. I only have one thing to say to you little half-blood; speak to me again of family when you stand on the same side of the battle field as yours _cousin_!" And just like that he released her, leaving her too stunned to react as he grabbed Eren and leapt off the roof, landing lithely on the streets three stories below and taking off down the streets with their stolen prize. She lay there for a moment longer before raising one hand to stare at it; a familiar hand, the same hand she'd always had-adorned with callouses and rough from the wielding of weapons-and yet at the same time it looked very different.

_Half Blood._ The word ran through her head like something monstrous, leaving a foul taste in her mouth._ But how? I never knew. All my life since my parent's murder I've hated their kind, and yet ive never once thought that my own Father could have been one of them. That I had their blood in my veins. That it wasn't just a coincidence that my last name was Ackerman as well. Eren…maybe you were right after all. At least about something._

_ "Mikasa!"_ The shout startled her enough to whip her head around; Armin was running towards her with worry and concern on his face.

"Armin?" Slowly, she sat up and by the time he'd gotten to her she'd already risen back to her feet.

"Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"I caught up with them, but Rivaille was stronger. He took my blades but let me live; Eren protected me."

"Protected you? But after what he said in the barracks-."

"What he said and did in the barracks was an act, Armin! All of it was an act! The words, the fight, even his actions as Rogue; he knew that that was the only way they could ever get their hands on the Hand."

"But what could they possibly want it for; what use could a sacred sword be to a bunch of Vampires?"

"No idea, but I do know where they're going; the Tower of Althalaxx."

"Smith's prison?" he suddenly looked very pale.

She nodded. "Yes, Erwin Smith's prison; they're freeing the Legion's leader likely in an attempt to ingratiate themselves. And one thing is for sure: we have to get there first!"


	18. The Tower of Althalaxx

"I thought all of the cars were incinerated with the house."

"They were."

"Then where the hell did you get this Bugatti from?"

"The one I had in the house wasn't the only one in existence on the planet Jӓger, even if it was a limited edition."

"Oh of course, because we absolutely _must_ have the world's fastest sports car in order to make a circa two hour trip to Maria City from Rose."

"Two hours?" Rivaille snorted, smashing down on the gas pedal and sending Eren back against his seat as they rocketed down the empty rain slicked high way. "Make that half an hour!"

"Mikasa, you need to be realistic about all of this. It isn't likely that we'll make it there in time."

"And yet we're still headed out there."

"Because we have to try!"

"Exactly!" she tried her hardest not to snap but the words still came out bladed. "I'm being perfectly reasonable Armin, considering the circumstances." The words of that Vampire-to think of him as her Cousin actually made her skin crawl-were still bothering her. Just because Eren was right about some things, she told herself, didn't mean that he was _right_. Didn't mean that his words should be heeded. Didn't mean that his beckoning into the shadows with a welcoming hand and warm smile should be answered. At least, this is what she tried to convince herself of. Half-blood. Was that really what she was? Could Rivaille's words really be taken at face value? How badly she wanted to take them with a grain-or better yet an entire shaker full-of salt but she wasn't able to. No place for her amongst the Pure bloods. No place for her amongst the Humans either, especially with the Hunter Sect. No place for her in the world outside of the underground. Outside of the Legion. Never had she missed her brother's warm embrace more than she did in that moment, but she wouldn't go. Not now, not ever. She'd been able to conceal her secret from everyone around her-herself included-for so long that continuing to do so wouldn't be any problem at all. Even if she was now noticing things like how mouthwatering the scent of blood really was and the warmth emanating from the bodies of those around her that made her throat go dry. She jumped with a soft yelp, hand flying to her mouth as her tooth pierced her lip. "Ouch!"

"I've told you that chewing on your lip is a bad habit Mikasa, I knew that this would happen eventually." Krista chided, crossing the floor of the camper they had crowded into with some difficulty at fault of the speed at which they were traveling to press a tissue to the injured area. "Just keep pressure on it and try to calm down; we can all understand why, believe me, but you're worrying too much. We'll take care of both Eren and Rivaille tonight and everything will go back to normal."

Normal? There was no chance for her to ever have a normal life again. "You're right." She raised her hand to hold the tissue there herself and tried to push the thought of the metallic taste of her own blood out of her mind. "But we shouldn't count on being able to defeat them. Having faced him myself, I know exactly how strong Rivaille really is; he's in a whole other league from any Vampire we've ever faced. And let's not forget that Eren is as clever and resourceful as a fox when he needs to be. On top of that, we don't exactly have the upper hand in unfamiliar territory."

"Have some faith would you!" Jean gripped, crossing his arms over his chest. "Their pride will be the death of both of them. Unknown territory or not, we're not coming away from this as the losers."

If only she could be that confident about their chances.

The two had been hiding in the bushes for almost an hour by the time the others reached them, Eren still light headed from the extreme speed of their travel and Rivaille rapidly growing annoyed at the fact that his carefully polished shoes were becoming coated in a thick layer of dark viscous mud.

"You two certainly got here fast." Farlan noted once the larger part of their group had gotten within earshot.

Eren turned his head to peer up at him balefully with semi-bloodshot eyes. "Tell me about it; I'm pretty sure that we broke the sound barrier in that car." He said unsteadily. "Do me a favor, _never_ drive like that again; I think I left my insides back in Rose."

"No promises, brat. And you look like you're in one piece to me." Rising to full height he narrowed his eyes at the dark shape of the tower carved in black against the sky. "Do you feel up to this or would you like to rest a moment longer?"

"I'm fine; a little light headed, but fine." Eren replied. "You brought my gear, right?"

"Right here, don't worry." Petra handed the mechanical contraption to him which Eren took with a word of thanks.

"Give me about five minutes to put this on and strap the sword to my back, then I'll be good to go."

"We need to go over our strategy again anyway." Rivaille said. "The inside of this thing is filled top to bottom with booby traps so climbing up or down it from inside is most definitely not an option. That's where Eren and his gear come in; we'll distract the guards while you scale the outside of the tower to the top with the Hand. Once you've freed Erwin and set the explosives use the homin stone Hanji gave you to take both of you back to the underground; we'll clean up here and meet you back in Undercity to finally set the accord in motion."

"And if the Hunters show up to the party?"

"If your friends come out to play we aren't going to stop them." He replied as Eren finished securing the scraps of his gear and then slid the sword into an improvised sheath on his back. "Aimee." Something in the other's tone made the taller brunet turn to look at him in time to be pulled down for a swift but meaningful kiss. "Just in case."

"I'm not the one who is going to be fighting Levi. Don't worry about me."

The raven nodded. "You have everything, brat."

"Yep; it's all in order." He assured. "I'm ready to go as soon as you give the signal." His green eyes flashed over the open yard of what he'd always thought growing up to be an old abandoned news tower.

"Well then, let's not waste any more time sitting out here in this damnable weather." Eren left to skirt the tower to the right through the bushes to the right to skirt the tower as the others made no secret of charging out of the bushes in an organized assault. The guards froze up at the sight of them, as if lying eyes on Rivaille-who the entire Pure Blood community by that point believed to be dead-left them entirely dumbstruck, their faces set into looks of shock and horror. Eren waited dutifully in the shadows until all visible guards had been engaged before leaving his hiding place and streaking across the open ground as fast as his legs could carry him just as headlights flooded the field from the nearby road and a trailer came roaring up on the scene. He knew that trailer. Knew it well.

_Of all the times!_ He cursed mentally as he reached the base of the tower and fired off his gear. Shouting reached his ears over the rushing of the cold night wind; arguing and what sounded like 'Jean'! and the next thing he knew he had narrowly avoided taking a gear hook to the small of his back. "_Shit!_" That was way too close, and all that he wanted to do in that moment was get as far away from the other as possible. Rivaille and the others were out of range and even if they had been able to help they were otherwise occupied. All that he was armed with at the moment was the Hand and three pounds of C-4 explosives and Jean was rushing towards him with both blades drawn. All that he could do was turn tail and keep running in hopes that he was faster, well aware that the other was right on his heels. Of course it had to be in his most vulnerable position and of course it had to be Horseface that was after him!

"_Come back here you coward! Can't you stand and fight without your master to back you up!"_ But Eren ignored him, catching his balance on the windowsill before jumping down into the room beyond only to have the furious ash blonde follow him. "Not going to answer me, _Rogue_?"

"I have nothing to say to you, Horseface. Leave before you get yourself into something you can't handle!" Keeping a close watch on him out of his peripheral vision, Eren set the bag containing the explosives down and opened it. "Unless, of course, you'd rather be blown clear to the North Sea." He had to jump back when the bag was kicked out of his hands and smashed against the wall with a clatter. "_You're lucky that's C-4 and not anything more volatile! You'll blow the both of us to hell kicking it around like that dumb ass!"_

"Of there is anything left of the man you used to be, Eren, you'll hand over that sword right now. I'll carry out your execution myself, here and now; at least that way your soul will be purified . That's all that we can do for you now."

He snorted. "You and your order talk of honor and dedication and sacrificing for the greater good and yet when it comes down to putting your money where your mouth is you pack of bureaucrat bigot bastards always end up eating your words instead. Well, I'm sick to death of it! I'm never going back!" Reaching up over his shoulder he drew the Hand of Raziel, the wrappings falling away to reveal the blindingly bright silver blade which seemed to glow as if on fire. "You want this blade? You can have it," a jackal grin spread across his face "provided that you can pry it from my cold dead fingers that is, #6."

"#5, now that you've deserted us!" He shot back to which Eren only laughed, twirling the blade in his hands.

"#5 out of 9 but still #6 out of 10; my absence does nothing to amplify your strength, and considering the fact that it's me you're facing in this fight it seems we've come back around to the same impasse." He replied with a sneer. "Well, are you planning on trying to take this or not? If the answer is no, then leave. I simply don't have the time to bother with your distraction right now." He would have turned back to the bag but was stopped by the blade that sailed passed his face.

"Bastard!" The second strike was blocked with the flat of his blade. "How dare you stand there so smugly, wielding that sword! How can you even bare to handle that sacred blade when you're nothing but a black hearted heretic!"

"Black hearted heretic?" he repeated, pushing him back with a role of his eyes. "How Shakespearian; and Levi tells me _I'm_ over dramatic! Aside from my status as a Vampire's mate, what makes you call me that?"

"_You're a fucking murderer!_"

"Aren't we all?" he demanded. "The justification of Vampires being monsters is entirely false. If I am a murderer, then that would reduce you and the entire Hunter Sect are nothing more than unrepentant racists now wouldn't it?"

Eren couldn't help but think that the look on Jean's face in that moment was priceless. "Do you have any idea how completely twisted that your views have become? How warped he's made your mind?" He demanded. "Are you even Human anymore or has he made you one of them?"

This much Eren answered with his blade, bringing it down hard with just enough time for the other to block. "If you absolutely must delve that far into the uncharted waters of what, quite frankly, is a rather personal subject fine. I'll let you in on that little secret if it will satisfy your curiosity." A swift kick to the stomach off balanced him but he still managed to dodge the next attack, "Levi has offered me eternal life, but I refused him. Mind you, becoming a Vampire is something that I am more than willing to do just not at the moment. I'll need my humanity for a bit longer in order to rebuild all of the bridges I've had to burn to see what is necessary done. Now," Jean tripped backwards but managed to catch himself by grabbing the sides of the window, "I think that you and I have talked for long enough and I can't rightfully suffer your distraction for any longer. I have only one thing left to say to you Horseface," planting a hand on each wall of the tiny room he hoisted his body off the ground and drove both feet into the other's chest, knocking his grip free. "Have a nice fall!"

_Shit!_ His hands were torn from the smooth stone and the next thing he knew he was plummeting towards the ground, the green of the grass and the grey-white stone of the tower and the black canvas of the star studded night spinning dizzyingly around him. In total desperation to somehow save himself from a fatal impact he fired his hooks at the tower; the metal reams screamed as the metal chord was taken out at breakneck speed, the metal chords turning red from friction and spitting sparks as they were stressed too and past the point of being able to hold up; a resounding snap echoed through the night and he slammed into the ground below. His leg shattered on impact and his gear was destroyed but the chords had taken enough of the force away that the fall was survivable. Fully conscious but dazed and unable to walk Jean lay there for a moment before catching sight of the red eyes coming towards him. _Oh dear God, you must be joking! _ He'd fought with Eren, been pushed off the top of a 20 story tower and survived the fall but would now be killed by a Vampire. Just perfect. The Vampire was male; titanic in size from his prone position on the ground and dark haired with most of his face concealed by a mustache and beared and arms powerful enough to snap him in half like a twig. This was it. He was really going to die and he couldn't even fight back. It were as if the universe were laughing at him; laughing at its own sick joke.

"_Reiss!_" Rivaille-he recognized the miserable little imp immediately-appeared out of nowhere on the larger Vampire's back, snapping and snarling like a rabid animal and ripping into him in a furious attempt to get at his throat; through the shock and horror of now being stuck between what was quite obviously a clash of titans he was relieved that, at least for the moment, he'd been forgotten as his attacker's attention was diverted onto the other. Ripping him off of his back, he threw the smaller Vampire to the ground where he landed on his back with a rather painful sounding thump before scrambling up onto all fours with an infuriated hiss.

"Rivaille."

"Reiss!" He spat again, lips pulling back over fangs outlined in red; a mix of both his opponent's blood and his own. "Bad enough that you would cower behind your worthless subordinates but to think that rather than facing me in honorable combat you'd go after an unarmed and wounded _human_ opponent? It would seem that Uncle has neglected refreshing your lessons on Pure Blood honor!"

"How dare you speak to me of honor, dog!" Reiss snarled back, Jean's presence now entirely forgotten. "Consorting with the Turned, mated to a Human. You should have taken advantage of that fire and stayed in hiding because you will _never _win this war! Your heathen ways will not sully the legacy of our people!"

"My 'heathen' ways are the only path our race can take which doesn't lead to our inevitable destruction! Kenny cannot see that and thus refused to change, so blinded by his pride as he is; by the end of this war he will die, and those like you who follow him will die with him!" He'd seen many Vampires fighting for their lives in his years as a Hunter, but he'd never seen a battle _between _two Vampires until now; being so close to the dueling monsters was terrifying in and of itself, and all that he could do was push himself closer against the stone tower and pray to whatever God would listen that he didn't get caught up in the cross fire. Eyes glowing scarlet with pupils slitted, claws fully extended and pale faces drawn back into bloodied snarls. Roars of fury and shrieks of pain as skin tore and blood splattered; Reiss had an advantage over Rivaille given his greater size and strength but the smaller stature of his opponent afforded greater speed and agility which he took full advantage of. They moved like animals, spinning through the air in graceful leaps and bounds, twisting around in their skin like cats to get at the other when they managed to slide in around behind them. Reiss finally caught hold of the raven and threw him against the tower; the stone buckled with a loud crack, sending splinters of marble flying in all directions as he collapsed to the ground only a few feet away from him. Injured. Clearly in pain. He tried to get back to his feet as the other Vampire approached but fell once more to his knees.

"Where's your precious Hunter now? I want to make him watch you die before my coven drains him dry."

"Where is he?" he repeated, glaring up at the other through his bangs. "Upstairs." A bright light flared from the top of the tower as a powerful explosion shattered the sky above.

He knew that he didn't have any more than a handful of minutes to carry out his task, and that was only if the snapping sound he'd heard was the sound of Jean's gear breaking so he wasted no more time in getting to work. _Drive the blade into the symbol carved into the wall, he said,_ Eren thought, mentally running over his instructions again. _Christ it's dark in here._ He drew closer to the walls, squinting through the shadows to scan the smooth stone surface until he located the front carving. _Hopefully this is it, though I don't see any other etchings. _Just how much force did one need to use when impaling a sword into a solid stone wall? _Here goes nothing._ Lining up the tip of the blade with the etching of the horned horse, Eren pushed against it with all his might; the blade slid in like a key into a door and turned with a quiet grinding sound. A bright white light spread out from the blade up along a hidden seam and a concealed door popped open the reveal the room on the other side. It was even darker on this side of the door, as if the prison cell were an abyss sucking all light into its center. The faint rattling of rusted chains as a hulking shadow unfurled itself from its position huddled in the corner dwarfing Eren completely. "Erwin Smith, I take it?" it was difficult to keep the shaking out of his voice. "The Legion sent me to get you out of here." Hesitating for a moment longer he stepped forward and used the sword to break the rusted chain free of the floor.

"A Hunter?" though dry and raspy from centuries of disuse it was still immediately recognizable as a powerful voice more than capable of commanding, rather like Rivaille's; that thought made him smile.

"Former, yes. We'll explain everything once we get you back to the Underground; I have a homing stone but I need to set these charges first." Pulling the C-4 charges out of the bag he attached and wired them as quickly as he could. _That looks right…even if it isn't they'll still explode, right?_ Pulling the stone out of his pocket, he pressed down the button on the first charge to start the count down. "Let's get out of here!"

The sky shattered apart and the ground beneath their feet shook with the force of the explosion, the top of the tower setting alight like a torch as enormous shards of rock began raining down around them, a particularly large one striking the raven's still standing foe. Blood was dripping out of his mouth as he panted forcing himself into a standing position before shakily offering Jean his hand.

"Don't make the mistake that we're allies Cheval Visage, but let's get out of here shall we?" Take his chances with an injured vampire or take a rock to the head that really would kill him? Jean chose the former and with a few seconds he was on his head looking at the collapse and a drunkenly stumbling injured Rivaille from the tree line.

"_Rivaille!_" Surrounded by Vampires, all sporting various cuts and scrapes. Fuck. "You're hurt! A woman with ginger hair and a stature slightly shorter than his own caught hold of the raven as he collapsed, supporting his injured frame against her own and rapidly becoming soaked in blood.

"Petra!"

"What happened?"

"I don't know but he's lost consciousness! We need to get him back to Eren!"

"What about this hunter?"

"He expended most of what little energy he had left pulling him clear so we should leave him; he's wounded so it isn't like he can follow us."

"The other hunters will find him soon; Reiss' coven is in tatters now so he's not in much danger."

"Yeah, you're right. We may as well."

Another woman who he recognized as the red head who had accompanied Rivaille to crash Eren's execution leaned down over him with a wide grin. "Oh, it's horse boy. Eren's friend."

"Horseface, Isabelle."

"Well, either way. You'd better start screaming for help so that your friends will find you before Kenny gets here." And just like that they'd vanished from sight.

"Jean!" It wasn't that much later that he heard the others calling for him from the other side of the field. "Jean!"

"_Over here!"_

"Jean!"

"There he is!" Footsteps running towards him; a few seconds later they'd all gathered around him.

"Are you hurt?" Marco asked him.

"Yeah, I think my fucking leg is broken!" He replied as he was helped to his feet.

"How did you get all the way over here; we saw you fall from the tower. And where did all of this blood come from?"

"It's Vampire blood; Rivaille's blood. He was in a fight with another Vampire that got squashed by some of the falling rocks. He beat him up pretty bad. He collapsed after we got here and his coven took him away,"

"We should get out of here too," Mikasa pointed out. "The collapse of that tower will have the MP swarming in a frothing rage; we'd best cut out of here when they do."

"She's right; there's nothing left for us to do here and if what Jean said about Rivaille's injuries is true then it'll be a while before we hear anything from the Legion again. We'll use that time to recover and prepare." They could only hope that by the time they did show up again they'd be ready.

The interior of the Devil's Thorn was dark, the only occupants a furious Kenny Ackerman and the pair of shaking messengers sent from the remains of the coven that had failed in its charge of protecting the tower.

"Reiss is dead?"

The pair exchanged fearful glances before Marlo hesitantly piped up "Y-Yes Sir."

"The Tower has fallen; Erwin is free?"

"Yes S-Sir."

"Rivaille," he snarled dangerously "is alive?" When neither answered right away he tossed his wine glass across the room where it shattered against the wall. "_Well?!_"

"Y-Yes Sir, he's alive b-but, you see, he's injured a-and-."

"_I don't give a damn if he's injured, I want proof that he's dead! Flood the tunnels! Hunt them down! And bring me his head!"_


	19. Matters of Accord

Eren was overwhelmed by the fuss that had erupted the moment he'd arrived in Undercity for the first time; the Turned-chief amongst them Hanji who he'd already pegged as being crazy to begin with-flipped out on catching sight of their leader and he'd been swept up in the tide with no other choice but to wait for Levi or one of the others to come and save him from the predicament he'd somehow managed to find his way into. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Turned not to hurt him or his own skills to be enough to protect him in they did get any rowdier, but the sight of her familiar ginger hair still came as an immense relief.

"Petra! Thank God!" As a matter of fact his relief was such that it took him a moment to notice her grim expression and the fact that she was covered in blood. "What happened? Where's Levi?"

"Hurt. Badly. Come with me Eren, quickly; he got into a fight with Reiss." He'd been injured in the fighting? Damn it! He should have been there to watch his back instead of climbing that fucking tower and wasting time with Horseface. He hurried after Petra as she lead him through the streets towards the small house where the little group of Pure Bloods had set up shop. "He's upstairs; I'll be back once I find the others. Hopefully they've managed to figure out where Hanji has run off to by now." He had barely heard the words that followed up the statement of where Levi was and didn't notice when the other vampire left him alone in the house. He ran up the stairs, the scent of blood leading him to the correct room. The raven looked almost unfathomably small lying amidts the originally-white-but-rapidly-turning-scarlet-with-blood sheets, his skin even paler than usual and looking more like a corpse with countless wounds pouring blood as of yet unbandaged as the others had clearly thought it best to allow Hanji-scientist and medic that she was-tend to him. He appeared at first glance to be unconscious but then a small sound of pain made its way between pale lips and Eren made his way closer to the bed; from this distance he could now barely make out the faintest glimmer of the other's pewter irises hidden beneath bruised and hooded lids.

_He's injured so badly._ Eren thought, sinking down onto his knees beside the bed and reaching out to touch the other's face; another painful whimper as the raven strained weakly towards the warmth emanating from his skin. That was right, in his panic and distress over the sight of the grievous extent of the other's wounds the fact had completely fled his mind; his blood would aid the other's healing ability and get him back on his feet faster. He was too weak to speak, but that tiny gesture of leaning hungrilly towards his warmth said enough. "You can't sit up in that state, can you?" a quiet mewl; sighing, Eren climbed up onto the bed as well and lowered himself over the other's body, thinking nothing of offering up his exposed throat, but the moment that the fangs had pierced his skin he realized that something was very wrong. What he was used to: two neat puncture marks through which the blood was dawn at a leisured pace so as to prevent it from getting everywhere as per the other's hyper-clean nature. What happened: with a snarl which he could only hope to describe as demonic the wounded Vampire's hands latched onto him in an iron grip so strong his bones creaked and tore his throat out. Blood splattered in all directions in a spectal reminiscent of something out of a shit poor low budget slasher film, a sharp bladed tongue gounging greedily into the exposed flesh and severed veins. _Shit!_ He'd made a terrible mistake; he'd stupidly taken the moans and twitches as sentient consciousness when in reality what he was dealing with wasn't Levi at all but rather 5'3" of Pure Blooded Vampire instinct. He knew that it was futile but he struggled anyway, his strength giving out almost instantaneously and his body going cold as it collapsed onto the other's. _No! Levi, don't do this to us!_ He was going to die. What would the Turned do when they discovered that the leader of the Pure Bloods who had come amongst them claiming to want peace had killed the human he'd called his mate. How would Levi himself react when he came back to himself and realized what he'd done.

"Oh my God!"

"Eren, you idiot!" Strong hands grabbed hold of him, tearing his now limp-as-a-ragdoll form from the other's grasp. The room spun with the sudden movement as his eyes rolled in their sockets and darted around, blackness collapsing in around his vision even while he took in the scene as it was around him. Blood-his blood-splattering the ceiling in a fine mist of scarlet and dripping down the walls, smearing the face of the all but unrecognizable occupant of the bed. He looked nothing like the controlled and carefully groomed man Eren loved with all his heart and soul in that moment, but rather more closely resembled the beasts of nightmare he'd once believed all Vampires to be; eyes straight red with no pupils visible, fangs flashing in the low light and mouth agape face painted in blood and drool as he twitched and seized like something out of the Exorcist.

"Mike, Moblit, tend to Rivaille! I have to stop the bleeding!" Hanji's blurry face appeared momentarily in his line of sight before all sound cut out and reality shattered apart into black.

_I really hope I'm not dead._ Slowly regaining consciousness, Eren's eyes fluttered open and his senses of awareness kicked in. He was lying on his back on what felt like a couch staring up at the ceiling; his wounded throat was throbbing beneath tightly wound cotton bandages and it felt as if he'd swallowed one of his swords. "Ouch." He croaked eloquently, minorly surprised that he could still talk at all. He sat up slowly in case of any sudden onset vertigo but thankfully suffered nothing of the sort and looked around; they'd moved him downstairs into the sitting room and left him on the couch. Probably a wise decision, considering what had happened.

"Ouch sounds fairly mild, given your injury." Nearly hitting the ceiling in fright, Eren whipped his head around to find Erwin-now clean shaven with his blonde hair trimmed and groomed and his tattered clothing replaced with a clean suit-sitting cross legged in an armchair nearby. "Careful; Hanji had to put something close to 40 stitches in your throat to stop the bleeding and it's be bad if you were to pop one."

"How long have I been out?" he asked the blonde half-blood, somewhat fearful of his answer.

"About 45 minutes. Maybe an hour. Not long. You're lucky; they pulled him off of you in time and, as a Supplicant, your blood supply replenishes itself at a faster rate than most. Still," his blue eyes pierced him with a grim certainty as if he were trying to make sure that he drove home his point "what you did was very stupid. A Hunter like you really ought to have known better."

"He didn't mean to," Eren didn't know why, but he suddenly felt more attacked and criticized that was likely reasonable to at that moment; pulling his knees protectively up to his chest he tucked his head. "He was unconscious and didn't realise what he was doing."

"'Didn't mean to' wouldn't make you any less dead, boy."

"I'll be dead in 3 days, don't fucking talk to me like I'm a child!" He hissed, feeling furious and at the same time very tired. "And I know that it wouldn't, I'm not stupid. It was my mistake, so don't hold it against him. He would never, ever, in a million years do anything to harm me on purpose."

"And just what makes you so sure of that."

He'd have loved nothing more than to punch the Legion's Commander in the face at that moment but he'd already snapped at him and something told him that any further hostility wouldn't help with the outlining of any Accord between them. "Because he isn't like the other Pure Bloods."

"The fact that a Human is in love with him does nothing to make Rivaille any different from the rest of his kind. What would make him different, however, would be undeniable proof that he loves that Human in return. As he is unconscious at the moment if I ever see that it won't be any time soon." Again he paused, blue eyes continuing to size him up as he outlined his next statement carefully in his head before continuing to speak. "Vengeance, young Eren, makes strange bedfellows. You and your Pure Blood…friends will have our aid, for now, but until that proof is had you will not have our trust."

Eren hesitated for a moment before nodding with a sigh. "I suppose that we'll just have to make due with that much for now." He said. "We'll hold off on the official signing of the Accord until Levi has regained consciousness if not recovered fully. Do you have any idea how long that might be?"

"A while, I'm afraid. You were intending to help him heal faster when you earned yourself that wound, but what you didn't realize was that it would take far more blood than you have in your body to accelerate his healing beyond what it already is at this point. We'll have to wait for Rivaille to heal on his own, and until that happens it's you and me at the help partner. So let's try to get along." The Legion's Commander extended one of his enormous hands to Eren, which he took and the pair shook.

"We'll need to deal with the threat posed by the Military Police immediately; Kenny has to know by now both that you are free and that Levi survived that fire and the death of one of his supporters in the fight will definitely not help matters."

"Undercity is well fortified, hidden and-."

"Not exactly secret; the only reason that it's never been found is because until now the Pure Bloods never bothered looking. But if they flood these tunnels-which they will-it's only a matter of time before they stumble on it. And if they do find us here we're cornered."

Slowly, the older man nodded. "I suppose that you're right about that much. Very well, what do you suggest then?"

"We need a fortification that is open to the air. That way, if need be, we'll be able to escape." He replied. "The Pure Bloods have Sina. The Hunters have Rose. Our next step is simple; take Maria for ourselves. From there we focus our efforts on the Hunters, and once we have them on their knees we'll leverage their help to drive the final nail in Kenny's coffin. I grew up in that city so it will be easy to circumvent their forces, as it's likely that they will realize what our next move will be. You and I will lead roughly 3/4ths of the Legion with us to the surface in Maria after sealing off all of the other tunnels and will leave the last 1/4th here to protect Rivaille until the city is securely in our possession in case the M.P. tries to sneak in behind us." Realizing that the other was staring at him he demanded "what?"

"I can see why Rivaille chose you to help him against Kenny. You may not be a resounding strategist but you've a head for leadership and on ability to keep your emotions from getting in the way of what must be done."

Eren couldn't help but laugh. "You're the only person I've ever heard say that with it being directed towards me, though I suppose that being in his company for as long as I have has changed me. There was a time not too long ago where my emotions ruled my judgement completely."

"All must grow as warriors; you are young yet Eren, and where I doubt that you are finished growing it is fairly safe to say that even now those who would seek to stand in your way had best be ready to weather the storm. Especially now that the Hand of Raziel has chosen your command."

That had the brunet staring at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean its 'chosen' my command?"

"Exactly what it seems I mean. You know that I am a half-blood I'm sure, but would it surprise you to know that my mother was a hunter as well?" Seeing his surprise, Erwin nodded. "I am well aware of your Order, so mired in the following of your 'old ways' that they slip through your fingers like sand from a broken hour glass. One such example of that lost knowledge is the truth of the Hand of Raziel. The angel of the same name gifted it to the first of your order in the era when the Vampires first appeared to threaten Humanity; it was meant to be used as a shepherding light in the darkness wielded by Humanity's greatest warriors, instead the Hunters turned it on their fellow man to instill fear and control amongst their ranks. That blade was never meant to taste Human blood, and by forcing it to do so they sullied it; the silver blade became tarnished and pitted. They first wrapped it in those linens in an effort to preserve its rapidly deteriorating state to no avail. And yet your touch restored it to its former glory. It chose you to wield it because there is good in your cause, purity in your heart and a fire to rival the heavens ablaze in your soul. You yourself may well have been sent by the angel, though I have heard that you do not believe." He gestured to the sword-once again wrapped up tightly in linens-which was now lying on the table. "That aside, you cannot contend the truth that that blade contains powerful magics, magics that have for whatever reason marked you as worth enough to wield them. That blade will never fail you so long as you remain unbowed to darkness, and even Kenny will be unable to stand in its way.

"You talk about me as if I were some great hero of myth. Some great warrior and martyr."

"You are a great warrior and may well become a martyr yet. And, mark my words, there will be legends spoken of you one day."

"I find that a little hard to believe."

"I'm sure that Artouiros felt the same way, once." Erwin replied, getting up to leave.

"Artouiros?"

The blonde nodded. "King Arthur, you've heard of him haven't you?" he wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question. "Get to sleep Eren, this night has most certainly been a busy one for you. Preperations will begin in the morning, our first priority being sealing the tunnels as you have suggested."

"Good night, Commander Erwin."

"Good night, Eren." But even once the blonde man had walked out and left him alone on that dark first floor he couldn't get to sleep. Something about their conversation, especially the martyr bit, bothered him.

"Is Jean going to be ok?"

"Yeah; I went by the infirmary about 20 minutes ago. His leg is broken in two places from the fall so he'll be out of commission for a while but he should recover completely."

"In how long?"

"A few weeks, at the longest."

"We'll just have to do without him then."

The remaining members of the 104th were sitting around a table in the library, patched up from an assortment of cuts and scrapes and doing their best to put their heads together in hopes of this time managing to be proactive against rather than reactive to an attack. They'd been bouncing around ideas for hours by that point with only to occasional brief digression but had come up with nothing. The map spread out on the table between them had provided us inspiration until Armin suddenly sat up straight in his chair with dawning horror on his face.

"Armin, what's wrong?"

"I think I've figured out what their next move is going to be."

"You do?" Ymir demanded crossly. "Spit it out Arlert! What the hell are you waiting for!"

"Think about it, what does both our order and the Military Police have that the Legion doesn't and would want? Territory on the surface. We have Rose. They have Sina. Knowing Eren's background he'll make a bid for the control of Maria City at the soonest possible time; on top of being his hometown it's officially unclaimed dispite the small hunter base stationed there. He'd feel safe in that city, even if it isn't exactly the best positioned strategically."

"If that's the case," Mikasa stated grimly, "we need to get to Maria _now._"

Annie's chair scrapped against the floor as she pushed it back and stood up. "I'll tell Shadis."


	20. Battle for Maria City

Likely those above ground had mistaken the grumblings of the depth charges they'd been using to seal up the underground passages as small scale earthquakes; about three days had passed between the present and their bloody jail break of out Althalaxx and-though a few squabbles with MP forces had been had-all of the tunnels aside from the one which they planned to employ as transport to Maria had been tightly sealed with rubble and magic. Rivaille still hadn't regained consciousness-considering that this was likely less at the fault of his injuries and more at the fault of morphine Hanji had him on Eren tried to keep himself from worrying-and though his wound hadn't fully healed it was getting closer to the point where the stiches could be removed and so he'd been given approval by Hanji to join in the battle as long as he stayed off the immediate front lines. He was in the process of securing his gear and checking over the Hand when he felt the presence of someone else in the room and looked up.

"Oh, hello Petra." He said, smiling at her as she walked over to him. "You'll be staying back with the others to see to Rivaille?"

She nodded gently. "Yes, we all thought that to be best. It will be just you and the Turned assaulting Maria. Which is the matter of why I'm here." She produced a box from behind her back. "Hanji stopped me outside and asked me to give these to you. Apparently they belonged to Erwin who used them a great deal back during the rebellion, but he believes that you now have a greater need for them."

Opening the lid, Eren peered curiously inside and found a pair of worn black leather bracers adorned with a rune inscribed metal plate. "What are they?"

"A magic artifact of some kind; all that I was told is that they will help you get around more easily." Petra admitted. "I assume that he will tell you more on your way up to the surface through the tunnels. Which brings up the point; you should really be heading out to meet them."

"Oh, right!" Jesus, had the time really gotten that far away from him? Finishing up grabbing his things as quickly as he could, Eren leapt to his feet and ran out the door to meet the force that had gathered at the opening of the last unsealed tunnel. "Sorry!" He gasped the moment he was within earshot. "S-Sorry! I kind of lost track of the time!"

The older blonde just smiled calmly at him. "It's alright, Eren. Calm down." He replied, blue eyes alighting on the bracers now adorning his wrists. "It's good that those made it to you; you'll quickly find the mobility provided useful and, I have no doubt, the ability to drive your opponents batty is one you'll quickly find entertaining."

"But, what is it?"

"A magic artifact called the Night's Embrace: you'll soon discover that it's far more useful and covert than gear. I'll explain exactly how to use it, and what it does, on the way up to Maria City."

No one knew quite how long they'd been there, though a combined conscious amidst the group agreed that their assumption that Maria City would be their next move. Now all that they could do was keep a close watch out for anything strange and wait. Jean had been left in Rose to nurse his injured leg, and that left just eight of them.

"Night again," Reiner muttered, scanning the horizon once again before looking towards the other two out of his peripheral vision; Berthold standing stalk straight and nervous and Annie leaning against the railing of the outpost's roof, peering over the side. "Wonder if it'll finally go down."

"Shut up, Reiner!" Annie snapped at him in annoyance. "You say that every damn night and all it does is freak him out more!" She gestured at the nervous giant who was fidgeting and sweating bullets. "It's not as if we would see them coming anyway; the underground is called the _underground_ for a reason! I wouldn't be surprised if they were moving around under our feet right this very moment!"

"Yeah, you're right. But still," his eyes again scanned the dark horizon; night sky, full moon, black hills. Out of nowhere something small and winged came flying straight at his face, sending the blonde reeling back with a loud cry of shock. "_Oh Jesus!"_

"Reiner, it's a bat! Calm the fuck down!" Annie snapped, Berthold unable to stifle his nervous laughter as the small fuzzy beast assailed his friend a moment longer before flying off.

"God damn winged rat!" He bellowed after the retreating figure before turning back to the others and clearing his throat in an effort to save face. "Any of you two notice anything weird?"

"You mean aside from the #2 graduate flipping his holy living shit over a 5-gram common brown bat?"

"Oi, for all I know that little bastard had rabbies!" He defended. "And no, I didn't mean that."

"Well, Sasha and Connie are on ground patrol and Mikasa and the others are all positioned on roof tops throughout the city. But we haven't had so much as a tremor of activity in days." Berthold piped up, looking down at the hand held radio sitting nearby on the roof. "No one has sent any communication."

"I have noticed some weird shit going on lately with Ackerman though."

"Can you really blame her Annie? Her brother turns out to be Rogue, a murderous vampire lover hell bent on seeing human society burn so that his new leech friends can take over; I think she'd entitled to a few nightmares." Reiner grunted.

"I'm not talking about nightmares, she hasn't been having nightmares! She hasn't even been sleeping; not at night! Just last night I caught her staring at Bodt's neck! She goes through 30 packs of water like an addict goes through lines of Coke! Lenz got a paper cut this morning and Ackerman took off at the sight of blood so fast it were as if somebody had lit her on fire!"

"Annie, I really think we would have noticed something earlier if she'd been bitten."

"Not if it happened when she was a child!"

"That's-!"

"Not ridiculous at all! Jӓger has already shown himself to be a leech lover! Maybe Rivaille isn't the only leech lover he's been feeding!"

"Mikasa is the strongest soldier we have. Sure, she's always been close to Eren but that's to be expected; he's her brother. Her loyalty is completely devoted to-."

A loud crackle of static exploded from the tiny speaker of the hand held, startling the trio as Marco's panicked voice rang out "Shiganshina! It's Eren!"

They hadn't seen him coming. Hadn't heard the impact of hooks of the hissing of gas. One second the coast was clear and the next thing they knew the calm was shattered by the brunet's sudden appearance beside them. Ymir was immediately engaged in battle, leaving Marco with no choice but to scramble towards the walkie-talkie in a desperate effort to grab hold of it before it was kicked off the roof or trampled underfoot. Man hole covers were popping up from the streets with sounds like gun shots and sailing through the air like deadly missiles, one very nearly slamming into him as he ducked for cover.

"Shiganshina!" He shouted into the receiver, desperately twisting knobs and dials in hopes that someone would hear him. "Shiganshina! It's Eren!"

"_Marco, look out!_" He managed to react to Ymir's warning shout in time to avoid the strike himself but the radio in his hands was skewered on the point of the Hand just seconds before Eren took off across the rooftops. "Get back here you bastard!" She was off like a shot in pursuit leaving the freckled raven with no choice but to follow after in an attempt to back her up. He could only hope that his transmission had made it through and that some of the others would come to help them quickly; the Turned were already swarming in the streets below with even more hemorrhaging up through the many drain openings spread throughout the city. Eren swooped and dove like a falcon, well aware that as he'd hoped they were catching up and closing in fast. Marco had gotten close enough to see his former comrade's smirk and realize that something was very wrong a split second before he threw his weight back against the wires to bring his feet up, braced momentarily against a brick wall and sling-shotted himself back at them in a whirl of steel which was only narrowly avoided.

_"Let's see how good the two of you really are!"_ He yelled over his shoulder as he darted to the right, curled into a ball and vanished through the hole in a wall of a condemned building.

"Shit!"

"Marco, go around! I'll follow him!" She darted after him before he could stop her; Eren let himself freefall down a slanted metal shoot, relying more on his own momentum then his gear to cartwheel and spiral through the broken passageway before breaking through a window and firing off his gear again. Marco, catching sight of him as he rounded the corner, rushed up to lock swords with the brunet only to have a bright white flash blind him and the next thing he knew he'd slammed into

"Ymir!?"

"Damn it, where'd he go!" She demanded, trying her best to disentangle her wires from his while the pair dangled helplessly in the air. "We had him!"

"Oh, how interesting that we'd find the pair of you in this position." Reiner noted with a snort, swinging onto a nearby roof with the other two on his heels. "I thought that you were into women Ymir but don't worry, I won't tell Krista."

"Oh, stuff a sock in it!" The brunet snarled furiously. "It figures that the three of you show up here after everything is over!"

"We had to get all the way across town, you harpy! Give us a break!"

"If Eren was here he can't have gone far. He must have just-." Annie began, but was again interrupted by their radio; this time it was Krista's voice.

"He's on the North side! Eren and a bunch of Turned!"

"What? How the hell can he possibly have made it that far already?"

"I don't know but we need to go!" The five streaked across the rooftops, rushing to reach the North district while trying to process just how it could be that the other could have possibly managed to cover so much ground in a matter of a few seconds.

"Krista!" Ymir ran to the blonde the moment that they arrived, finding her bloody and bruised but otherwise alright. "What happened? Where are Arlert and Ackerman?"

"They went chasing after Eren when he ran after that little blitz attack; Armin said something about him having magic bracers!"

"Magic? That would certainly explain things." Marco noted. "Which way did they go? We need to back them up, especially considering we've no idea what the limits of those bracers are."

"They were headed towards the outpost in the center of the city when last I saw them but I'm not sure if they've gone elsewhere."

"Come on!" Radioing out to the remaindering of their group they headed towards the outpost in a desperate bid to reach it in time only to very nearly collide with the rapidly retreating pair.

"No! We can't go any closer, we need to leave!" Mikasa nearly screamed at them over the howling of the Turned vampires evidently in hot pursuit. "We've lost! The city is lost!"

"How can you say that it's lost? We're all still here, aren't we! We can still fight! We still have the outpost!"

"No, we don't! Eren was just a distraction; they used him to break out lines!" Armin cut in, pausing in their flight on a rooftop with a 360 view of the city. "Don't believe me, then take a look. The Scouting Legion is better than we thought." They now had an unobscured view of the outpost, now fully engulfed in tongues of red and golden flames licking up at the black sky, a banner of spread wings being unfurled from the top of the roof by a familiar figure who raised his green eyes after a moment to look as if he could feel their gaze.

"Damn it!" Reiner cursed loudly. "At this rate there's nothing we can fucking do to stop them; aside from a miracle we'll be wiped out!"

"It's definite that we're going to need a new approach to things if we're going to stand a chance and it's likely we'll end up having to call for extra assistance from elsewhere in the world but we'll leave such matters to our superiors; for now our concern should be getting out of here safely." Armin pointed out. "It's only a matter of time before those things catch up to us."

"Armin is right, we need to leave." Annie agreed, reluctant assent from the others quickly following. Now all that was left to do was locate Connie and Sasha before executing a retreat.

The ashes covered the ground in heaps of cooling grey like fine snow, little left of the outpost but for charred black foundation posts and cracked stones. Those who hadn't died in the initial battle on escaped in the chaos of the 45 minute melee had been dealt with as was required by their take no prisoners policy required; brutal, maybe, but necessary at the delicate stage of the game in which they were currently in. Regret, as far as he was concerned, could have plenty of time to be addressed once everything was over especially considering he wouldn't be dying for many years to come provided that everything fell in to place the way that both of them hoped it would. Banners bearing the wings of freedom were hung from the roofs of seemingly every building in the city, the pale silvery blue silk fluttering silently in the cool night breeze as Eren stood in the courtyard of the now destroyed out post, looking on the destruction with a veiled gaze. He had to keep reminding himself that all of the death, bloodshed and betrayal would be worth it in the end. That all that they did was only what had to be done in order to move out of the darkness so that theirs would be the last generation to know a lifetime of warfare. Even so, he couldn't dwell on it or else the guilt would claw at him prematurely and his resolve would be stripped away. The members of his former regiment, he had heard, had all escaped back to their well-fortified garrison in Rose. Hanji and the others were now busy making it well known that the city was now under their martial law, ensuring that law enforcement officials were bribed or intimidated into submission and even as he stood there staring at the razed building Maria city was being outfitted with all of the necessary measures to transform it overnight into a fortress city.

"Eren," hearing his name called he looked up to find Erwin walking towards him.

"The Legion truly is impressive," he noted, turning away from the wreckage to better address the older man. "While that was admittedly a small force, a 45 minute take down isn't anything to sneeze at."

"Don't give all of the credit to us; though on account of your injury you were unable to do any real fighting, thanks to your little disappearing act their lines were shattered into pieces and this was prevented from transforming into a siege. After the confusion set in, it was easy to overturn them." He replied. "I trust that you found them useful?"

Eren glanced down at the bracers and nodded. "Yes, more than helpful. Amusing, even, what with the reaction that I managed to get out of Reiner; never crossed my mind that a man like him would be so petrified of something small and fuzzy."

"What did you plan to do with this, now that their outpost is gone?" he asked him. "Will you simply leave the burn out behind?"

"That would certainly leave a statement," the brunet agreed, "but this is a strategic location-well protected in the heart of the city-and I can think of a better one; we should build our own club house here, like the Devil's Thorn; a place for our forces to cut loose and relax as well as a way to bring in money from civilians. We'll have drinks and dancers, and separate it into two levels; the main level that you just walk into from the door will be open to everyone, but the bottom level will be for members only. It'll be a hell of a lot more fun than the Thorn was and we'll call it Flügel der Freiheit."

Erwin chuckled at him. "What is it about teenagers and clubs?"

"You sound like Levi when you say stuff like that."

"Arguably we're both old men." The smile lines were etched deeper into his face as Erwin flashed yet another smile. "Very well then, if a club is what you think is best to put here I see no reason why it shouldn't be done especially given the points that you have raised of money and moral. It should be up and running within a week or so."

"That's great!" The excitement flooding through him was almost irrational. "Would it surprise you that the first career that popped into mind on the rare occasion I imagined my life as something other than a hunter was club owner?"

"Considering you've shown yourself to be a people person when you care to be, I'm not surprised." The cellphone carefully tucked away into Eren's pocket emitted a high pitched ring, making the youth jump. "There's only one person that should be; you should probably answer it."

"Yeah, you're right. Excuse me." Turning away politely, he pulled out the shrieking object and hit the talk button. "Hello?"

"Eren," Petra's voice filtered down to him through the phone line. "Rivaille woke up ten minutes ago; I thought you'd appreciate a heads up."

"Very much so, thank you. I'll be there right away."

"Did something happen with Rivaille then?"

He nodded. "Yeah; he's awake. I'm going to head back to see him now."

"We'll finish up here so don't worry about that though, if it isn't too much to ask of you, could you see to the arrangements to get the rest of them up here and seal off Undercity for good?"

"Not at all; I guess we'll speak again later than?"

"I suppose we will."

Eren took off through the streets at a steady lope, sliding through the first opening into the tunnels underfoot as fluidly as water before another flash of white and a tingling sensation with which he was rapidly growing familiar saw cold heavy air beneath his outstretched wings. By that point he was familiar enough with the tunnels that he could eventually find his way to where he needed to go given a few hours and a phone with a full battery and a flashlight app, but being able to literally play it by ear through sonar was an amazing change of pace and came as far more than just a small relief. Dipping down a bit on his right he made a sharp aerial turn and dove down a particularly small off shoot which flowered out into a spigot which-though at the moment was, thankfully, dry-that supplied clean water to the city when it rained on the surface above. Undercity was every bit as grim as one would imagine an entirely subterranean city to be, many of the buildings in differing states of severe disrepair, the roads cracked and rutted and dirty and all of it overhung by a roof of stone which dripped imposing stalactites down above their heads. Alighting on the doorstep of the correct building he straightened up to his full height and went inside, immediately making his way up to the second floor. Hearing the door to the room open, the bandaged raven turned his head and a sterling silver gaze met green.

"Eren."

He walked over to the bedside and smiled at him, sitting down in the chair. "I'm glad to see that you're awake."

Gentle tugging on his hand pulled him down onto the bed with him, cold hands running up over his shoulders and up onto his neck to stroke the bandaged flesh with regret in his eyes. "They told me what happened. What I did."

"You didn't do anything outside of what was natural; I'm the one who did something stupid." Eren replied, settling down deeper into the bed beside him. "I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself." He didn't reply but rested his head on his chest, nestling closer.

"I was worried when I was told about what had happened. So scared that I would hurt you. And to be told that you were fighting out there…I know that you are strong and you were not alone but it still terrified me to think that you were up there in danger and I couldn't do anything to help you. It's nice to have you with me again; to hear your heartbeat and reassure myself that you really are still here."

"Mmm," carding his hand through the other's hair Eren had to fight off the smile that threatened to spread across his face. "You're quite self-conscious about that, aren't you?"

"I suppose that I am, but can you really blame me?" a smirk again momentarily crossing his visage. "Aside from the necklace, since when have you worn jewelry?" his nail tapped a hollow metallic sound against one of the metal plates chained to the leather bracers. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Well, I'm glad that you like them but they're not just a fashion statement." Shifting position slightly, he held up one wrist to allow the other a chance to better examine the new adornments. "They were given to me by Erwin right before we left as a…loan? Gift? I'm not really sure which." He narrowed his eyes slightly, the golden highlights in the green irises flashed as he ran a hand over the bracer on his left wrist, feeling the pads of his fingers brush against the soft leather and cold tarnished metal. "The enchantment on them is quite curious; being able to turn into a bat was most definitely helpful in parting their lines."

"I'd bet it was; be sure to hold on to those. They'll definitely provide us with an upper hand." Rivaille told him. "Maria is ours then, or did they pull a miracle out of their asses and manage to hold on to it?"

"Maria is ours, yes, and a Devil's Thorn of our own is being built in the place where the outpost was; it should be done soon enough if all of the construction goes as planned. But, speaking of Maria, we need to start pulling out of Undercity so we can seal it off. Are you able to walk?"

"Walk? Yes. But I fear that it will be quite a while yet before I can rejoin you on the field of battle." He replied. "Shall we go, then? Best not to keep our allies waiting." The thin white mattress seemed to pull at his figure, as though the sadistic sheets were trying to hold him down. He looked gaunt, more so than Eren felt he should have, face thin and drawn but recovering and though there was a shadow of exhaustion and discomfort buried deep in the pewter mirrors the warmth comfort provided by the brunet's presence at his shoulder could clearly be seen. The finery of oxford shirts and Armani suits of which he had grown used to seeing him in had been replaced by a long sleeved shirt of thin white fabric sheer enough to reveal the bandages and ivory skin underneath and tight enough to outline the chiseled curve of every muscle on his well-built frame. Over that he wore a pair of black slacks held up by matching straps crisscrossing over the center of his back clutching tight to broad powerful shoulders. His black hair was messier than Eren had ever seen it, rumpled in a way which was unkempt but not unsightly and mostly at the fault of the long tan fingers which had formerly been skating through the raven tresses. "I'll certainly have to see myself the moment that we have settled ourselves." An almost anemic smile which seemed odd on his features, the curves of his face stark and almost bleak for the shadows beneath them as pale almost chapped lips drew back over sharpened teeth as he indicated the broken nails adorning his fingers. "I'll certainly be making my way over to the showers once there."

"Ooh," long arms draped over his shoulder. "Can I join?"

"Not this time; I actually intend to get clean." Eren pouted but released him. "Next time."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I know you will," he wobbled slightly like a ship caught in a swell and grabbed hold of the other's arm in order to keep himself upright. "Well, let's get started; no point in delaying our departure, as every moment that we waste could be the moment in which my Uncle finds us."


	21. Bunker Down

"So that's the final decision, then? We're just going to sit here picking our asses and waiting to be overrun?"

"There's no need to be so dramatic, Jean."

"Marco is right; we're not just sitting here waiting for them to attack us, we're staying where we have the advantage in order to better protect our weak points while the Vatican makes their final decision on how to address the Legion."

"Well, how have they been addressing them so far Armin?"

"…" the blonde sighed. "They consider them to be an isolated issue. A passing problem."

"Isolated issue?" the ash blonde spluttered angrily, trying to straighten up only to find himself encumbered by the cast on his leg. "Yeah, those bastards are right. It's an isolated issue for the fucking moment, but what about in six months? A year? And it's at the flash point of being a passing issue, what with the Order at risk of going the way of the Dodo! What the hell are they thinking?"

"They intend to keep their focus on the Military Police; the Vatican believes that if we leave the Legion to their own devices their attention will be diverted away from us by internal issues."

"That's fucking stupid! They'll be on our asses like dogs on a bone until there's no more resistance, this is Jӓger we're talking about! He'll steam roll us if we resist and he'll just walk all over us with cleated shoes if we don't! They may as well have issued the surrender order for all that it will do to save us!"

"Jean, you have to understand why they're so reluctant to mobilize. An organized force-not just a few clans loosely bound together by convenience but a truly organized force-of Vampires is something that our Organization has never seen. They are simply not a species that is conducive to large groups; even the Military Police themselves are too busy with hauteur and internal feuds to really pose a lasting problem. They don't believe us when we tell them about the Legion because historical evidence indicates that the ties between Rivaille and Erwin-whatever they may be-will dissolve, and dissolve explosively, within a matter of days."

"No they aren't! The 'tie' holding them together is Eren fucking Jӓger! Until he's dead, the fighting in their own ranks won't start!"

"Are you suggesting that we make an assassination attempt?" Armin asked him.

"I'm suggesting that we do something to deal with him, so yes I suppose I am."

"If we're going to have any hope of getting rid of Eren at this point we'd have to send someone into the Legion undercover. Someone who he would think nothing of trusting implicitly, so that we could catch him unawares and vulnerable. It would be a long and difficult job, and likely, because of the trust factor, only Mikasa or I would be able to pull it off but I don't have the skill necessary to be able to make it back out of Maria once the deed is done and…I've begun to worry that Mikasa is no longer quite stable." Armin paused for a moment, fiddling with his hands folded in his lap. "This may just be my opinion, but resorting to assassination at this stage of the game seems a little more desperate of an act than we should be resorting to. We should wait things out a little longer before posing that option to our superiors; the Military Police may yet do our job for us."

"We can hope," Jean growled, "but I wouldn't count on it."

The rumblings of the collapse of the high flung ceiling over the Undercity still echoed distantly in his ears even now as he emerged from the sole remaining open tunnel into the damp night air and the pair made towards the house that had captures Eren's attention during the fighting and that they had stopped by the purchase only 20 minutes before.

"It's no Stohess mansion," he said with a small smile, "but it's charming. And there's a large library room; I know that that was a feature that was important to you."

"It's perfect," came the reply as the brunet slid the key into the lock and the pair went inside. "Perfect because I'll be living here with you, and that is what matters most."

The teen spread a blinding grin as a faint flush of pink dusted his cheeks. "It's interesting to see you getting so sentimental; it's a nice change."

"Tch, don't get used to it brat." He replied, brushing passed his laughing companion. "I'm going to go and get cleaned up, I feel disgusting!" The raven disappeared up the staircase to the second floor leaving Eren to poke around in curiosity to discover where everything was. The neighborhood was in Shiganshina, not far from where his childhood home had been; being back home-not just to visit but to stay-was nice to say the least. If he closed his eyes and concentrated he could hear the sound of his father's voice and smell the mouthwatering scent of his mother's cooking wafting through the air. The downstairs consisted of a small foyer with a well sized closet in which to hang coats and hide shoes, a small hallway blossoming off to a little guest bedroom before opening fully into a large kitchen, dining room and sitting room. A postural door lead down a narrow wooden staircase into a finished basement housing a washer and drier in a small back room and a large game room off to one side. Upstairs had a study, a guest bedroom, another guest bathroom, a massive master bedroom with an adjoining master bath now occupied by a showering Levi and a large library with shelves stocked with leather bond books-clearly old but well taken care of-and an array of rather exotic looking furniture scattered about to give flavor to the room, including a particularly unique cross between a recliner and a day bed situated in front of a gabled window through which the full moon was shining brightly like a gigantic silver coin. Eren situated himself on said couch and waited for the other to find him.

Finally getting all of the dirt, blood and grime off of himself was a relief and managing to locate a pair of nail clippers in the small bag of items he'd brought with him to eliminate the broken edges just made it all the better. A cloud of steam billowed out of the bathroom in his wake as he opened the door and proceeded into the master bedroom on the other side wearing the clothing that he had had on before-not quite clean but not classifiable as dirty either-expecting to find the brunet waiting for him on the bed. When he found the mattress empty however, the hideous sheets-they would have to get new ones immediately the next morning not to mention that God only knew where the filthy things had been-devoid of even so much as a wrinkle he raised an eyebrow.

"Jӓger," he called in a voice just loud enough to be heard throughout the house, "where are you brat?"

"Around," came the mischievous reply; he could almost hear the delicious smirk in his voice.

"Come out here, brat. I'm a bit more tired than usual but I'm still up for some playing around."

"Mmm. Play sounds fun; let's start with hide and seek." The honeyed voice went straight to his groin; his mind's eye forming the perfect image of his sinful pink lips forming the next words "find me." Shaking his head, he decided to play the other's game.

"Find you," he crooned, turning into the hallway and sorting through the unfamiliar scents and sounds to cue in on the wet thumping of his partner's heart. "Hide and seek is too simple, my little Hunter. Or were you not trying to present me with a challenge?" He could see his heat signature through the wall now; opening the door of the library he found the brunet reclined in a plush wine red chair in a Victorian style adorned with brass buttons. Behind him was an expansive window gabled in elegant black iron arches and framed by flush beige curtains tied back with soft golden ropes and beside him was a brushed nickel candelabra, the nine lit candles made of soft melting wax tipped in flickering golden flames. It reminded him vaguely of a scene out of Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ as Eren-shirt opened down to the third button-swallowed just thickly enough to send his eyes darting to his exposed throat. He'd wound the bandages around the fingers of one hand after removing them, and the small black stitches binding his skin together were now on full display.

"No challenge," he smirked in answer to his question. "Just dinner. Come eat, Levi. You look like you need it." In light of what had happened to give him those stiches in the first place he wanted to deny it and wait until he had recovered more, if not fully, from the injury but he knew that Eren was right. He moved forwards, prowling up to the chair with eyes locked on his pulse point. The brunet welcomed him with a raised arm, tilting his chin up and head to one side to allow him the greatest access to the vital flesh and feeling the cold burn of piercing fangs moments later. A low moan escaped his throat, one hand clawing at the raven's broad back as the other found purchase in black hair, his eyes falling half-lidded and lips curving down into a grimace as the agonizing ecstasy flooded through him once again as the Vampire above him satisfied his thirst. He could feel his heart thudding against his ribs, feel the blood roaring through his veins and hear his panting breaths as sweat slicked his bronze skin. Another throaty sound of pleasure as he raised his hips, rutting his heated flesh against the other and receiving a hiss in return. Removing his fangs from his neck, Levi stared down at him with pupils blown wide over a thin band of lunar silver.

"Do you really want to do this here and risk getting the chair all dirty?" he growled lowly, voice darkened by lust; he could smell the arousal rolling off the heated form in waves as his heart rate skyrocketed.

"This is a nice chair," the teen somehow managed to grin crookedly despite his distraction, and the sight of it made the raven's length twitch in painful anticipation. "I'll be careful if you will."

"Hn. You have a deal, then." He ripped down his jeans so quickly that the fabric seemed in danger of ripping, unveiling unblemished tan thighs which were already shaking lightly, watching the goosebumps blossom outwards from his warm breath as he moved closer. "But I'm not quite done eating yet, so you're going to have to be a little patient." His long pink tongue traced a thin trail of saliva along the major vein running up the inside of Eren's thigh and he smirked at the hitching breath he heard before sinking his teeth in again.

"A-Ah!" The pleasure-pain was sharp as his partner ravaged his new territory, savoring the rich bodied blood and the subtle sweetness of his skin. "Levi! P-Please! Hah!"

"You're very needy, brat." The whines were sending cold shivers through him and hunger aside it was all becoming a bit too much to ignore. "You're lucky that I'm so willing to indulge you." Cold fingers wrapping around his length, wrist snapping in firm but gentle strokes that wrenched a piercing keen from the soft lips. He would have loved nothing more than to keep going with him and had every intention of doing so but much to the annoyance of them both a loud insistent knocking at the front door interrupted them. Drawing back Rivaille stifled a small growl, licking the fresh blood from his lips as he narrowed his grey eyes in the direction of the hallway. He knew knocks like that after all too long living under his Uncle's thumb. Knew that ignoring the noise would only lead the responsible party to walk in like they owned the place and stumble in on the scene. "Relive and compose yourself quickly; it seems that Eyebrows has other plans for us tonight." That prospect didn't exactly please the brunet if the look on his face was anything to go by, but he did as he was told to and after a momentary struggle not to trip over the pants still down around his ankles made a mad dash for the nearest bathroom. More knocking; internally he swore. "I'm coming I'm coming! Jesus!" He had to restrain himself from flouncing down the stairs like some spoiled child. "What!?" he demanded rudely on wrenching open the door to find not just Erwin but Hanji as well waiting for him on the other side.

"No need to be so snappish, Shorty! We weren't interrupting anything I'm sure." No matter how hard he tried to control himself the tiniest twitch of one eye managed to shatter his otherwise 100% total composure and though Hanji failed to notice the fact didn't escape Erwin.

"Perhaps we should come back in the morning."

"No, no really it's fine. Don't let him scare you away." Eren slid down the banister to land gracefully at the bottom of the stairs before strutting up to the raven's side; from the flush of high color on his face and his severely rumpled appearance he couldn't help but think that their uninvited guests would have to be idiots not to realize what they'd walked in on. "This has to do with the Accords then?"

The raven rounded on him in shock. "For the love of God brat, are you meaning to tell me that nothing has been signed yet? "

"We both agreed that it would be best to wait until you had woken up," the blonde intervened, "but rectifying that at the soonest possible occasion is likely for the best so if you don't mind may we come in?" No choice now. Nodding, Rivaille stepped out of the way with a sigh to allow them inside.

"The library is the only room that is well furnished, all of the other rooms are filled with ugly shit that needs to be replaced. Let's take them in there." Eren was back up the stair case before the other could make a move to stop him and already the raven had a good guess as to which chair he would be sitting in; his assumptions were quickly proven correct and much to his amusement he discovered the brunet curled up like a cat on the plush red couch-chair. He went to join him and was immediately wrapped in warm arms that intertwined his body like climbing ivy as the teen draped himself over the elder's lap. Erwin and Hanji found places elsewhere.

"Need we negotiate and haggle, or can you bring yourselves to trust that we 'greedy' Pure Bloods won't take advantage?"

"I think the sheer amount of snark is rather uncalled for, Rivaille." Erwin replied. "Negotiations will come later, once this battle is won. We shall see if you follow through with the honeyed promise of your 'vision'."

"If my snark is uncalled for then so if your hostility." The raven had to hold himself back from snarling. "You don't trust me, and I can see that much very plainly; frankly I don't trust you either if I am to be completely honest. Take it at the fault of the fact that I was raised amidst back stabbing sharks. It's equally plain that you do not like me, and again I reciprocate that feeling of course there aren't many in this world that I _do_ like so, again, no surprise there. But you, Erwin, are a warrior; you have long fought for what was right and what you believed in even as I remained to be the coward. For that much I respect you, so I hope that you can in turn offer me the same."

"Respect? Yes. However begrudgingly it may be I would say that I do respect you, Le Ѐquarrisseur."

"Then let us start from there," the brunet lying with his head in the raven's lap watched with half-lidded tourmaline eyes as the pair shook hands. "Shall we draw something up, then?"

"I brought paper and a pen," Hanji piped up helpfully, producing said items from the bag she had brought with her.

"Thank you," Eren couldn't help but feel as if he'd been transported back to 1776 what with the neat constitution-esque scroll, white feather quill and beaten tin inkwell being used not to mention the fact that, in a way, they really were laying the groundwork for a new nation. He'd intervene with ideas and points from time to time but was for the most part content to simply watch them talk it out, throwing around ideas like voting, counsels and gentry and finally it came time to sign the resultant document and he did his best to make his signature legible despite his lack of skill with a feather quill. Rivaille then promptly shooed the other two back out of the door before the ink even had a chance to dry, not bothering to hide the hunger in his eyes as he returned his gaze to Eren.

"Now," he purred, "I believe that you and I were in the middle of something."


	22. Propaganda

**A handful of OCs introduced here in the form of naughty academy students, one of whom is closely connected to Eren.**

The crisp white pages fluttered as he ran his cut-short thumb nail down the side, checking out the repetitive printing of the spread black and white highly stylized wings eclipsing the climbing rose of the Order and bold lettering proclaiming DAWN IS COMING. He narrowed his golden eyes, dark bangs falling to hide one eye from view as he restarted at the top of the stack to examine each individual flier more closely well aware of the three other pairs of eyes resting nervously on his shoulders.

"Not quite what I had hoped," he said finally, tracing along an almost undetectable wrinkle on one of the fliers with his index finger. "But they will do. We'll get noticed somehow, and these are the first step. We have to show him the truth and restore his confidence that not everyone in the Order are fools; some of us want to follow his example and see the new world that he has promised to lead us to."

"But won't we get in real trouble for this, Asher?" tearing his gaze from the stack of propaganda in his hand-but a small fraction of the piles and piles of the same fliers coating the nearby table-he raised one eyebrow. "We're already up passed the curfew as it is. If they catch us with any of this stuff we'll be in deep! Don't you think that it's best to play it safe?"

"We're playing it safe enough, Athena. As long as all of you stick to my plan we won't be caught." He replied and turned away again. "Everyone grab as many of these as you can carry; we've got to plaster the entire building with these by morning!"

They'd been under no mistake that Maria would not be the last that they would hear of the Legion, but getting a frantic call to the Academy just outside of Rose city wasn't what they had expected. No one had told them what had happened or whether the situation at hand included dead or wounded, they had simply been ordered to go, and that was what had lead the 104th to roar up on the scene in full battle gear.

"Everyone grab shit and go!" Reiner bellowed as he leapt out of the bed of the pickup truck. "We've no idea what the hell we're running into, so be on your toes! We don't need any mistakes today!" A flurry of activity as weapons were grabbed, holy water was uncorked and straps were fumbled with until they finally rushed inside through the massive double doors.

"Whoa!" Connie pulled up short in surprise the minute they were inside, only narrowly avoiding being run over by the others who were right on his heels. "Uh, guys. Something tells me this situation isn't anything like we thought it was."

"You can say that again," Sasha agreed as they gazed around in a mix of shock and horror. Surrounding them on all sides, plastering the walls and the floor and the ceiling in layers an inch thick, were fliers. Wings filled the space as thickly as if the large room had been stuffed floor to ceiling with birds, and glaring down at them from all angles was the phrase 'Dawn is Coming'. "How long did this take?"

"Awhile; hours, at least. But this clearly isn't the work of just one person." Armin's blue eyes were dark with real concern as it dawned on him what this truly meant for them. "This is our worst nightmare; not only do we have to worry about the Legion and the Military Police but now there is a ghost in the machine. An unknown number of them."

"Infiltrators? Again? I thought we were done with this!"

"No, not infiltrators. They aren't affiliates of the Legion, but they certainly want to be."

"So these are students that we're dealing with?" Mikasa's stoic voice cut through the silence. The blonde nodded.

"I'm afraid so. But it will take a while to figure out whom." He said. "We'd do best to set up shop here until that happens. I'll have Marco and Krista assist me in developing a profile while the rest of you oversee the cleanup and make sure that nothing like this happens again."

"Right."

"Good plan."

"We should definitely head in to the great hall; it would appear that that is where they have gathered all of the students for us to address." Taking only a few moments further to fully compare themselves from the shock the members of the 104th pushed open the doors of the grand hall and walked inside, passing the tables which seemed to stretch for miles and were filled from end to end by frightened looking students, nervous whispers clinging to the heels of their boots as they passed. The students would lower their heads when they walked by them, refusing the make eye contact in favor of staring at the table and fidgeting; all aside from one boy. A third year with black hair and uncanny golden eyes that reminded her of a wolf's who stared her down as if issuing some sort of challenge, the sneer on his face making the snake bites on his lip more pronounced as the scar slashed over his one visible eye flashed silver. She'd been through a lot of awful things in her life but the gaze of this student still managed to make Mikasa shudder. Even when they reached the front of the room he kept staring at her and with no other way to get him to stop left to her in that moment she stared back with her most vicious glare but this only seemed to amuse the wolfish figure more. She barely heard a single word that the others were saying, to wrapped up in burning a hole in the middle of the offender's forehead; he was the first to break the stare after almost 15 minutes, only because the silver-blonde young woman at her side demanded attention and he looked over.

"Mikasa," she jumped in surprise when his hand came down on her shoulder with concern in his eyes. "It's time to start the cleanup process."

"Of course, sorry Armin."

"What were you staring at, anyway?"

"A twelve year old terror with a serious set of issues," with a heavy sigh she fell into step beside him. "When I tell you that he's mental, I mean it."

"You know him?"

The ravenette nodded. "And so do you, if he's really who I think he is. Remember anyone by the name of Asher Graham?"

"Now that you mention it yes. Didn't Eren step in to try and calm him down a bit back when we were 15? He was a first year, then, and in danger of being kicked out of school."

"And for all that we know, my brother is still in contact with him." Said in a deadly calm whisper as the devious preteen walked passed them with a challenging smirk painted on his face. "I know that we can't say anything quite yet without a profile but I'll tell you one thing; I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on that one."

This wasn't the first time he'd played dress up in his life, nothing about the outfit he was wearing was feminine in the least and, he had to keep reminding himself, that it was an honor to be chosen as the tailoring model of the new uniform but he still couldn't help but feel like some sort of giant doll as he stood penned in by three full length mirrors providing a 180 degree view of himself.

"Oh Eren, you look absolutely darling!" Hanji told him brightly. "Can you do a spin for me, please?" He glared at her in silence. "A manly spin?" Knowing she wouldn't let him be until he indulged her, he answered her request with one swift, sharp spin which sent the forest green cloak secured around his shoulders flaring out in a dramatic display.

"Happy?" he grumbled.

"Very. Thank you, sweet heart."

"You designed this uniform very well, Hanji." Petra praised her work as she observed both the wings emblazoned on the cloak and the half-cropped jacket underneath. "You managed to meet both Rivaille's and Erwin's expectations; difficult to do, considering that they were clashing."

"I'm glad that you think so Petra. Hopefully they'll feel the same when Eren here makes his debut on opening night." One off placed pin elicited a yelp from the brunet. "Sorry, Eren."

"When you asked me to play doll for you for a couple of hours I didn't think you meant to Voodoo kind!"

"Don't be so mellow-dramatic." The ginger chided. "She only has a few more pins left, stop squirming!"

"I'm _not_ squirming!"

"You're squirming."

"You're crazy!"

"The sooner that you calm down the sooner that you can get back to your lessons. The surprise that you have planned for Shorty is a little bit ambitious, but it certainly will be a memorable way to show the uniform off."

Eren made a small sound of annoyance but forced himself to stay still. "Tell me about it. Doing that kind of shit is hard enough for women; men don't usually do this for the same reason they don't do the splits!"

"I can imagine that it hurts." Folding the sleeve of the jacket up, Hanji pinned the jacket into place.

"A little."

"Are you good at it?"

A few seconds passed before the brunet answered, his cheeks heating up red. "…Maybe."

"I'm sure that he'll love it." Petra assured him gently. "You know how Rivaille is when it comes to you, Eren. You can't do wrong in his eyes."

"I'd still rather not make a total fool of myself in front of everyone."

"That's perfectly understandable." Putting the final pin into place she stepped back. "All right then, I've got all of the pins in place so I can finish fitting these on my own from here. You're free to run off to your lessons them minute that you change out of them."

"Thank you," he dodged passed them out of the mirrored box to hurriedly change out of the uniform and into his street clothes before rushing out of the door.

"Knowing what we do about what his little surprise is going to be, I can't wait to see Shorty's face!"

It had taken the better part of three days to strip all of the fliers down from their places plastering the entire academy, and now with hands tired from ripping and tearing through thin paper and covered in tiny cuts and hot glue burns the inhabitants of Rose Academy and the 104th who had been sent to assist them were left to get down to the business of attempting to smoke out whoever was responsible. Darkness had fallen outside and a light rain was falling, the air unpleasantly cold despite it being early March. They'd been set up in a long abandoned class room, the surrounding tables and other furniture draped in white sheets and loose windows rattling with a frigid draft. They'd go undisturbed, but their stay would be far from comfortable.

"Well, the profile that we have managed to put together doesn't quite feel complete though I suppose that things like these never do." He told them, flipping through a few pages of notes that he had taken before raising his hand to brush the blonde bangs out of his eyes. "We're dealing with a small group here, no more than ten and no less than four people. Their ring leader is older than the rest of them-most likely a third year student-and is presumably male; he's able to maintain control over the others through a combination of charisma, temptation and intimidation. He'll definitely be a trouble maker, likely be combative confrontational and have a problem with authority. His personality will be intense, focused and obsessive. He's likely to have some form of mental disorder-narcissism of schizophrenia-but it will be controlled at a level that is functional. He has a temper, a hair trigger one, and will have some sort of control complex. He'll mirror a strong personality in an effort to keep others away, but in the presence of a true 'alpha' type he'll be cowed into submission fairly easily. His obsession with the Legion is likely tethered not to the organization itself but to a particular person amidst their ranks, likely one of the three leading faces. He'll aspire to be noticed by the focus of his obsession, who, in his mind, has either been built up as a hero or else entirely deified."

"If he's functional that would mean that he's on medication, wouldn't it? So aside from sorting through medical records how would we be able to pick them out as mentally ill?" Berthold's dull green eyes fell to his large shaking hands as them rested on the uncovered table top. "What sort of signs would we even begin to look for?"

"If I'm right about him he'll have some sort of shrine or memento of his obsession hidden somewhere. It's simply a matter of finding it; that's how we'll know it's him."

"Knowing tweens and teens these days that would probably be a web page on social media."

"So that will be our next order of business, I assume? Hacking into accounts?" Ymir asked as all eyes turned back onto the blonde.

"If so, I'm going to need some help. Between the parting of the electronics from their owners and the actual cracking of the passwords it'll take forever if it's just me."

"Even if we've narrowed down the list by matching names to the profile?"

"Think about things reasonably; with the sheer number of students in the academy there's bound to be more than one of them." Marco pointed out, his freckled face pulling down into a small frown as Mikasa rose from her seat and crossed to the window. "We're going to probably have to all pitch in, no matter how lacking we may be in compute skills."

The dusty rain slicked pane of glass was cold cracked in places and distorted in others and reflected her own image back at her at the fault of the dark night outside but despite that she managed to catch sight of a familiar figure just as it disappeared into the tree line. _Just where do you think you're going?_

"Once all of the passwords are off it would only require basic knowledge, wouldn't it?" Reiner asked, looking towards the smaller bookish male for confirmation that this was indeed the truth. "We'll be able to cut down on time if we all pitch in to search their web histories after-Oi, where are you going?"

"Fresh air," she closed the door behind her before anyone could even begin to formulate a reply to that answer and made for the stairs at the end of the hallway, taking them two at a time and almost losing her balance at one point but refusing to slow down. What could that trouble making kid possibly be doing out alone in the dark woods after curfew on a night like this one? The answer: nothing good. Without stopping to grab a coat she burst through the academy's doors and sprinted down the rain soaked steps, taking off across the greens which were rapidly turning into a soupy marsh. The dark forest rose up above her in an eerie wall of swaying black trees, towering high above to rend the cloudy night with stripped-bare claws. The falling ran pattered against the loamy leaf-strewn ground in a constant quiet hiss, her eyes straining painfully for a moment before everything snapped into sharp focus of blues and violets. Where was he? He couldn't have gone very far. Wind rattled the newly budding leaves, branches hissing overhead. Some sort of small animal rooted around in the undergrowth before streaking away in fright at her rapid approach. Where! Where the hell could he be? A bright light flared up from nowhere above her head and with a sharp hiss of surprise she threw up one arm to shield her face.

"Hell, with that eye-shine I thought you were a Vampire!" Asher turned the flashlight so that the beam was no longer shining directly into her eyes before settling it in the crook of the branch on which he sat perched ten feet above the ground. "You're a half blood, aren't you."

Shit. Out of all the people in the world to uncover her secret it had to be the viscous little imp sitting in the tree over her head! She had to formulate a believable story fast. Bribing wouldn't work, begging would only make him laugh at her; she could only hope that he'd fall for a bluff. "Yes, I am a half blood; my father was brother to Kenny Ackerman and Rivaille is my elder cousin but don't think for a moment that you can use my family background to your benefit you little weasel! They're already well aware." Her dead pan expression and monotone voice seemed to be the selling touches; from what you could tell, he bought it.

"Huh. I see how it is; half Human but full traitor."

"Excuse me?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

"You heard me; you're no better than they are for turning your back on your family."

"They? Who is they?" Mikasa demanded of him. "The superiors? The entire Hunter sect, perhaps?"

The little bastard just turned up his nose at her. "Wouldn't you like to know, bitch." Opening the bag that he had brought with him, he rooted around in it for a moment before pulling out a can; a hiss and a crackle as he popped it open.

"Aren't you a little too young to be drinking?" he didn't reply but tossed at second can at her head; only her quick reflexes saved her from being pegged in the face. "What makes you think that I want to drink with you?"

"Drinking always shut them up, until they stared fighting. I remember how I'd always hear them screaming at each other while I hid in my bedroom closet; 'Bastard! You're sleeping around on me again; who is it this time?' 'Stupid whore, how dare you question me!' Then slapping and the sound of something shattering." He took a messy swig from the can, the brownish liquid running down over his chin. "Another broken table."

"'They' were your parents, weren't they."

"What do you care."

"Asher-."

"_Don't act like you care about me!_!" Beer sprayed in all directions, the flashlight and cast away can falling to the earth below with a thump and he jumped to his feet on the branch sending it shuddering dangerous. "_They didn't care! You don't care! No one cares! The only one who ever gave a damn about me was him!"_

"You mean Eren?" he didn't answer. "My brother was more than a mentor to you, wasn't he?"

"Why aren't you with him?"

"I'm asking the questions here, so stop-!"

"He told me! What happened in that cabin, to your parents! What he did for you! You're his sister; he loves you! So why aren't you with him!"

"Because what Eren is doing is wrong! He isn't who you knew anymore! You're only 12 years old Asher, these are matters too complicated for you to understand!"

"Just leave! Let me drink in peace!"

"I'm not leaving you out here; you'll freeze to death! Come down!"

"No!"

Remember what Armin had said about confrontation with a real alpha personality she did her best to harden her voice. "Come down here now of your own accord or I will _drag_ you out of that tree!" He continued to stare down at her owlishly for a moment before reluctantly clambering down from the tree. Grabbing his upper arm in a vice like grip she proceeded to march him back to the academy and into the doors. He was soaked through and shivering, dripping little puddles onto the floor at his feet.

"Happy now? Can I go?"

"Only if you're going to bed."

"Yeah yeah, I'll sleep! Satisfied with that?"

"Don't think that you can sneak out again, we'll all be up!" She called after his retreating form, receiving a glare in return. Asher made his way back up the stairs to his room, wanting to peel off his wet clothes and warm up. Shutting the door behind him he changed swiftly into a dry t-shirt and sweat pants before curling up on his bed and pulling the old locket out from around his neck, staring down at the ruby inlaid petals of the Order's rose which bloomed across the metal's face. Popping it open he looked down at the picture of himself-9 at the time-in the arms of a smiling 15 year old Eren. On the inside of the mirrored lid was an inscription in curling golden script: _Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings a tune without words and never stops at all._

_I want to live with you in this perfect world you've envisioned, big brother. _ He thought as he snapped it closed once more before tucking it away again. _I'm sure that you'll be proud of me once you learn what we've been doing. You'll let us fight for the Legion in the coming war._ Turning off the light, he drifted into a somewhat peaceful sleep.

Almost 3 years earlier

_ He heard the door to the apartment they had stuffed him into open again but refused to turn around. It would just be one of THEM, of that much he was sure. 'Probation' was the word that they had used when they had explained it to him that he was being punished for his 'bad behavior'. Being given one more chance before they kicked him out of the academy for good after only 6 months of attending, and this amnesty was only extended to him in the light of the fact that-abandoned by his family as he was-being expelled would mean a life on the street; he simply had nowhere else to go. This didn't bother him in the slightest however; he didn't care about himself any more than he did any other person. This, they told him, was a bi-product of what the Order called his 'mental illness'-he didn't buy that he had such a thing but they insisted on shoveling pills down his throat anyway-and that in time that would change. The other presence in the apartment would have to be his mentor (prison warden), a graduated Hinter who was reportedly well respected. In his mind this meant that he was some crusty old man who would shadow him constantly and not allow him to get away with anything, so the young strong voice demanding "what, are you just going to ignore me for the next 6 months Asher?" caused him to whirl around in surprise. Standing there before his eyes was probably the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his entire life and thus he was immediately attracted to him; not in the romantic sense, but rather in a sense of being drawn in by the irresistible gravitational pull that the youth seemed to possess without really being aware of the fact. His eyes were a moving shade of green the likes of which would render the finest of emeralds ashamed shot through with star bursts of ocean blue and spindles of dragon-scale gold; his skin was smooth and bronzed to the point of perfection; his hair, though neatly cut, refused to lay quite straight and was the luxurious hue of melted chocolate. "Ah, that's better." He said, flashing a smile that made him dizzy. "Look, I know that you're not happy about this and I can't blame you but I need you to understand that I really am here to help you and that this really is your last chance to not end up on the streets. You're angry about what happened to you, believe me I can relate, but you need to find a healthier outlet for your rage." He held out one hand to him. "I'm Eren."_

_ "E-Eren?" he repeated, staring dumbstruck at the offered hand. "As in Eren Jӓger? The #5 graduate of the 104__th__ regiment? But…you're famous; you all are! Kill record unmatched as a team. Skill unmatched but for amongst yourselves as individuals! What are you doing here?"_

_ "Giving back," the older boy replied, drawing back his hand once it became clear the other wouldn't be moving to take it any time soon. "When I was in the academy I too almost didn't graduate, not for lack of skill but rather for lack of control of my temper. I, too, had a lot of rage, I still do, but I've learned how to control it. They thought that I could help you."_

_ "You're really going to be my mentor?" he couldn't believe it. Why so much trouble over him. "Isn't there something more important for you to be doing?"_

_ "On a personal level or a professional one?" the small boy followed the older teen as he moved into the kitchen, watching as he set his bags down on the counter. _

_ "Both."_

_ "Professionally: this is my assignment. Personally:…well, it'll sound completely ridiculous, not to mention presumptuous, but I've always wanted a little brother."_

_ "Do you not have siblings?"_

_ "I do; a sister. But we're the same age and she looks after me more than I get to look after her what with her being the #1 graduate." Reclining against the counter he smiled again. "I've always wanted someone who wasn't afraid to let me look after them every once in a while. Will you let me help you, Asher?"_

_ His gaze drifted back to the locket clasped at the older boy's throat, unable to tear his gaze away from the beautiful craftsmanship of the ruby rose as it caught to light. "Do what you want."_

_ "You're interested in this?" he indicated the locket. "I notice that it's distracting you."_

_ Caught out, he looked away. "It's…unique."_

_ "Yes, it is." The soft click of metal as the locket was removed and held out to him. "Don't worry, it's not going to break apart if you touch it." Slowly, Asher reached out and took the piece of jewelry running his fingers up over the order's symbol as it spread across the locket's face. Popping it open found an inscription but no picture. "My sister special ordered it as a graduation gift for me; the inscription is from the poem "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" that my mother would always read to us when we were little. I was touched by the gesture but, to be honest, it rather gaudy for my tastes. You seem to appreciate it though." He nodded mutely as he passed it back to its rightful owner. "I'll make you a deal, Asher." Golden eyes met green expectantly. "Pass your first year through this little program putting you under my wing, and the locket is yours."_

He started awake when he felt someone lightly pinching his arm. Knowing full well who was responsible as she was the only one unafraid enough of his temper to risk something like that, he opened his eyes and promptly narrowed them into the most threatening glare that he could muster.

"Athena," he hissed, "what are you doing in my room? You know that girls aren't allowed in this wing."

"Since when has it mattered to you?" she asked him, flipping her curtain of silver hair over one shoulder. "It ought to be fairly obvious that I snuck up here. Why does it matter aside from the fact that I'm a 2nd year and a girl?"

"The presence of the 104th is why it matters, or did you not notice them three days ago?" Asher retorted. "That bitch already caught me out earlier. Thankfully I was only drinking."

"Hmm." With a blatant disregard for what he was saying she ignored his warning to go back to her own room and instead climbed up onto the bed beside him. "The 104th is the famous regiment they're always talking about, right? With the unmatched record of kicking ass and taking fangs?" A pause before she added "his regiment."

"Former regiment, yes. He was their #5 but I always thought he deserved a higher place." He told her. "It wasn't natural ability that landed him in the top 10, the fact that he worked many times harder than any of them did, and he still continued to do so after graduating. He should be #1 not #5."

"His sister is #1."

"Yeah, well, she cheated."

"Asher, how-?"

"She's a half blood!" He cut her off harshly. "And I know full well that the game she played of being a proud member of the Ackerman line out to the sect as what she really is was nothing but a load of steaming bullshit! But I'll only play that trump card if she makes me!"

"This is a game to you? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

He snorted. "Everything is a game! _Life_ is a game! You play and win, you live. You lose, you die. It's a simple as that. Now, either tell me what you want or get out."

"They're going to be confiscating computers and cellphones starting tomorrow; checking for 'social media shrines' to members of the Legion. I overheard them talking about it earlier."

"Well, they won't find anything like that. Others may make stupid shit like that, but I'm wearing my reminder. However, unless we finish up now, not having a computer will be problematic. How the tickets arrived yet?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tell Bram to send it, then, and hide the hard drive."

"Yes, sir. Any other orders?"

"Go _Straight_ back afterwards. I can't have you doing anything stupid and getting caught. They're suspicious enough as it is."


	23. A Mysterious Email

"Remind me again why you needed a computer."

Green eyes smoldered up at him from below the rim of the table he'd crawled under in order to start plugging in the necessary wires. "I've been over this with you already, Levi. There's no particular reason why I need it, but it will be helpful in the advertising and management of the club. Mike and Moblit are going to be stopping by in a few minutes to help me build a website and set up an email."

"I can leave you to this is total confidence that you won't injure yourself?"

Annoyed, Eren sighed and slid out fully from underneath the table. "I took my allergy pill so the dust isn't going to bother me and, though I might get a minor burn or two with how old the wiring is in this house, the monitor isn't going to eat me."

"How dramatic," he rolled his grey eyes before kissing him on the cheek. "I'm off to join Erwin then."

"Have fun playing checkers old man."

"Chess you little shit." Eren had to contain himself from laughing once the front door had closed behind the raven. Sliding his body back underneath the table Eren went back to working with the wires and it wasn't much later that he heard the front door open again.

"Eren, are you here?"

"Living room, Moblit." He called, inverting the plug in order to get it to fit where it needed to. Footsteps entered the room a split second later as the brunet finally succeeded in finishing plugging the computer into the wall. "Perfect timing; I would have had it booted up and ready but, though I can use the thing, I'm far from a computer whiz and true to form he insisted on purchasing the most expensive and high tech model they had; it took me 40 minutes just to plug it in."

"You could have waited for us you know; Moblit here would have had it up and running in five minutes flat."

"Yes, well, I've already cleared that hurtle and am capable enough of pressing a power button thank you." Said as he did so, causing the enormous high resolution screen to flicker on. "Let's mess around with the email first; I already have an address, so hooking it up to send to this computer shouldn't be overly difficult." His green eyes sparkled a challenge at the other. "What would you say that would take? Two minutes?"

"More like one," the older man scooted the rolling chair in which Eren sat aside with a pass of his foot before taking his place at the key board.

"Well, in that case I'll just give you the email address in and head to the kitchen to grab some drinks." Writing down said email address on a yellow post it, he stuck it to Mike's forehead as he sauntered out of the room.

"Thanks, Eren." He drawled, to which the other laughed.

"You bet; that's for that weird sniffing thing you did to me after the tower fiasco."

"He does that to everyone," Moblit pointed out as he removed the post it and started to enter in the given information. "Plus you're AB, so you really can't blame him."

"I've noticed; Levi didn't take very kindly to that habit at all. Of course, I can't blame him with an ass this fine." Pulling open the door of the fridge he peered inside. "Hmm. We got a couple Heineken, you guys want one?"

"I'll take one, sure." Mike called. Eren trotted back into the room with a pair of freezing bottles in one hand and a bottle opener in the other. Passing one to his companion he plopped back down onto his chair and popped of the lid with a casual flick of his wrist. A moment passed before Moblit looked up at him in confusion.

"I didn't know you're 21."

"Pff! I'm not." He replied as he took a drink. "But Levi has caused me to develop bad habits."

"Whatever, 'Jӓgermeister'."

"Oh shove off, my sister came up with the address for me!" Eren stuck out his tongue in response. "You got it all hooked up, then?"

"Yeah; I'm ready to start setting up the email but before I do you may be interested to know that you have an email."

"I do?" getting up from his chair he hurried over to what had become the computer desk to lean over his shoulder for a look. "That's the academy's email address; sent last night." Opening it quickly, he was met with a reply address and a link to a video.

"Why would the Hunter academy be sending _you _an email?"

"I don't know," Eren replied, clicking on the highlighted blue link. "Let's find out." Immediately a video feed clicked on, showing an isolated clearing in the middle of a forest. The film was poor quality, grainy shaky and easily identifiable as the product of a phone camera. A dummy-little more than a torso formed from burlap bags swathed in the Order's flag-was secured to the ground by a wooden pole stood in the middle, surrounded by a group of three teens; two of them were unfamiliar but the third, from the black hair to the amber gold eyes to the locket shining against his chest, was instantly recognizable. "Asher!"

"You know him?"

"When I was 15 I was sent to mentor him because he'd gotten into a bit of trouble and was in danger of being thrown out of the academy. I've helped him from time to time back then, but I never thought that he would reach out to us. He hasn't even graduated and he's already breaking Hunter law."

"Like teacher like student I suppose."

"Is it on yet or not, Collin?" Asher demanded, narrowing his eyes at the fourth teen whom was presumably hidden behind the camera.

"Yes, it's on."

"Good; light it." One of the others, a girl, stepped forwards with a torch and lit the flag wrapping the dummy on fire. "Hopefully this shows you that we're serious when we say that we no longer believe in the Hunter values. We'll be seeing each other soon, big brother." As the video cut out back into a black screen silence filled the room, leaving both Eren and Moblit staring dumbfounded at the computer.

"Well," Mike said finally, "that certainly takes 'notice me sempai' to a whole new level."

"This…is bad."

"Why would you say that? The kid seems to idolize you enough to do this on his own and he's taking the Hunter's attention away from us so how is it bad?"

"A whole host of reasons Mike, chief amongst those problems being that the oldest in that group is 12!" Eren informed him sharply. "Third years, at most, who are about 5 months shy of graduating! If they show up here, which it looks like they're planning to do, we'll have to expend the time and energy required to finish their training. I, personally, wouldn't mind doing so and Rivaille takes most of what I end up doing in stride-though they'll probably annoy him quite a bit-but I'm not sure if Erwin would be very happy about the situation."

"He makes a good point," Moblit reasoned. "But I've noticed that Rivaille isn't the only one who seems to differ to Eren. Erwin respects your opinion a great deal; you're quite insightful, even if you don't realize it. I'm sure that you'll be able to formulate some sort of a convincing pitch, but I really don't think tonight is the night where you should worry about it; the Flügel is opening after all."

He nodded, raising a hand to his forehead now aching from a blossoming headache as he took another swig of beer. "You're right, I shouldn't be worried about all of this quite yet; I'm confident we still have a few more days before they end up on our doorstep. We'll certainly have to arrange for someone to sit at the bus station though." Placing the brown glass bottle back down on the desk table he sighed. "Let's get this website finished; six hours till go time."

By this point they were pushing their 7th pot of coffee just that morning, up and going since their arrival the night before, and despite the pile of laptops and cellphones scattered about the room barely any of them have been cracked and none of those that had had wielded anything.

"I've found a couple of shrines to a variety of pop stars, but most of those are attached to accounts owned by girls on their friend's lists; some mindless tweets about some movie or another; complaints to their friends about boring lessons and strict instructors and a handful of 'training blooper' videos." Berthold listed off, looking around at the others who all ad similar screens up on the monitors of the devices that they were using. "Anyone else happen to find anything useful?"

"Nope."

"Nothing."

"Well, someone was looking at some naughty things but I don't know if one would consider that 'useful'."

"No Reiner, that isn't useful."

"There's certainly something strange with this computer; nothing on it, but certainly something strange about it." Marco said, flipping it over and unscrewing the back plate. "The hard drive is missing."

"Well," Krista stated pointedly. "I'd call that suspicious; it isn't always what you find, but rather what you don't."

"She's right; there would have to be some good reason for the owner of this laptop to pull the hard drive out; it had to have been just before turning it over to us because it hasn't been replaced." Armin said. "The first step would be finding out who this belongs to, and then searching their room; the hard drive might still be there."

"And that's where we'd find out evidence."

"Exactly."

"It belongs to a second year," Ymir informed them all, flipping through the list. "Some kid by the name of Collin Bayher. Doesn't exactly fit the profile though; reminds me more of egg head here than a budding psychopath."

Armin just ignored her poorly hidden comment and shook his head. "He wouldn't; even if he is involved he isn't the ring leader. He'd only be a pawn in their plan at best. Either way, we should head to the Dean's office in order to get permission to search the rooms; if it hasn't been destroyed then it's likely to be hidden away somewhere."

"But how likely are we to manage to stumble on it? Even if it is narrowed down to the second year dorms that's still a lot of 'somewhere'."

"We'll find it, even if we have to turn to whole place upside down." Mikasa replied coldly. "Failure is no longer an option. Our lives are on the line; just because they're untrained children doesn't mean their threat is any less. Terrorists is the only word I have for them, and if they make it to the Legion we're in even deeper trouble. Rivaille doesn't need any more zealot followers!"

Zealotry in their own ranks was a discussion that needed to be had in front of a mirror, but now was hardly the time to bring up such a thing and as all of them were well aware of that; heaven only knew where the ravenette's temper was and none of them really wanted to see it. Chair legs left new furrows rutted in the dust caked floor, the old wooden floor boards creaking underfoot as they all filed out into the hallway once again and headed towards the office of the Dean. It was a fairly short conversation, the wizened old man who had been left to manage the children in his youth and had not seen battle since then quickly submitting his permission to their will. The students staying in the dorms, however, were not so willing to cooperate and thus it took a great deal of corralling, cajoling and dragging to finally clear the floor so that their business there could go undisturbed.

"Leave nothing unchecked; don't just look in the obvious places. A hard drive is small enough to slip under a shelf, between books, in a pillow case or beneath a mattress. It could be sewn into a cushion, concealed in a hollowed out book of underneath a floor board. Look everywhere!" The ten searchers spread out across the floor, searching every room from corner to corner becoming covered in dust and cobwebs and leaving whole sale destruction in their wake from slit pillows to shaken out books and everything in between. They found many things-letters from home, keep sake items, candy stashes and cigarettes amongst them-but not what they were searching for. Then, finally, the small black and silver object was discovered masquerading as a flash drive underneath the false bottom of a desk drawer close to four hours after the search had begun.

"We finally found it; little bastard was smart enough to squirrel it away like that." Reiner held up the tiny object like some sort of trophy.

"Now for the hard part; cracking it." Armin replied as he took it from him. "If all goes well, we should be getting to the bottom of this by some time tomorrow."


	24. Opening Night

If he were to be entirely honest with himself Rivaille would have to admit that he had mixed emotions about the prospect of the Legion copying what had become M.P. tradition by building the Flügel; on its face the prospect was, to him, rather ridiculous, and on the other hand he found it unreasonably amusing that they would proceed to mock his former faction so completely but most of all he knew that the building made Eren happy-happier than he had seen him to date-and for the sake of that if nothing else he would tolerate whatever insanity that the building would have in store for them. Speaking of a certain green eyed brunet "Where is the brat anyway, I haven't seen him since I left this morning."

"Well, I'm not sure how long it takes to 'set up a website' for, as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm rather out of touch with many of these 'modern' things." Blue eyes carefully scanning the board for a moment before formulating a new strategy, Erwin selected a pawn and moved it forwards. "I would imagine that he is still with Mike and Moblit."

Not paying enough attention to realize the hole that he was digging himself into by falling for the fake out Rivaille shifted his black knight forwards before removing the ivory pawn from the board with slender fingers to join its bretheren flanking the side lines. "I don't like the thought of not being with him; I become more and more distracted the longer that I don't have him at the very least within my range of hearing."

"Eren can take care of himself, Rivaille." The blonde assured him, continuing to set up whatever his newest strategy was; he'd yet to win a game and after six shut outs the raven wasn't as worried over it as he probably should have been. "You worry too much for him, especially considering that young Eren will be a full grown man in just over a week."

"I know, but I can't help myself. I get incredibly anxious when I don't know what he's doing and the thought of anything happening to him immediately sends my into a self-induced total panic."

"I assure you that Eren Mike and Moblit are entirely competent enough to defend themselves and each other should anything happen, which is highly unlikely."

"Hm."

"You can go and call him if you're really that concerned."

"Now? We're in the middle of a game, Eyebrows!"

"No we aren't" the grin on his face as he slid the white pawn into place was almost too self-assured. "Checkmate."

"_Fuck!"_ His grey blue eyes narrowed dangerously at the other. "Castling? You cheap bastard!"

The taller blonde just laughed at him. "Can you really blame me? I had to resort to something desperate considering that it was about to be the 7th time you've beaten me tonight. It's not as if I cheated either, considering that we are playing the European version of chess rather than the Asian one."

_"I was distracted!"_

"And I'm supposed to compensate for that by going easy? Would Kenny?" silence as the shorter male continued to glare daggers at him. Finally, Erwin proffered his hand in a sportsman-like shake. "Good game?"

"Whatever." But he took it anyway and delivered a firm shake, perhaps too much so considering the wince that he received. Pulling back, he drew back his sleeve to peer at the face of the watch that he wore. "It's nearly 7:00."

"That time already?" the other replied, rising out of his chair and stretching his body. "We should probably be heading over, then; wouldn't want to miss the opening of our own club. I'll clean all of this up later, after everything is over." The pair left the taller man's home and got into the car the blonde at the wheel and the raven in the passanger seat, and pulled out of the drive way onto the street. The drive to the club only took about 5 minutes and they arrived with 10 minutes till to spare. "Holy shit!" The line to get in through the door of the new club once it finally opened stretched around the corner of the city block and disappeared. "How the hell are there this many people here? We just got the website up this morning!"

"Word of mouth travels fast, I suppose. People were also likely curious at the sight of a new building being built so quickly and wondered what it was." Erwin reasoned as they pulled to a stop in a nearby alleyway and got out.

"I suppose that that is a reasonable assumption." He allowed, shutting the car door and hissing quietly in distaste at the soft squelching of mud beneath his shoes. "At least we'll be on the lower level; as it's Legion only we won't have to deal with the teenagers if we don't want to."

"Luckilly for them."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" yet again the only reply that he received was laughter as the pair exited the alleyway and crossed to the walkway, walking alongside the line to get in. As they passed a few among their number began to whisper and soon the entire length of the line was abuzz with gossip.

"Look, those are two of the owners of the club."

"Really? So they're a couple, then?"

"No, no. The shorter guy is with the brunet who went inside about an hour ago."

"Then who's the blonde guy?"

"Business partner?"

Rivaille snorted in amusement. "More like tongue-in-cheek acquaintance." He informed them as they passed without bothering to stop.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"His teeth; his _fangs_!"

"Well, they do say they're 'Vampires' it's probably a publicity stunt."

"I don't know; they look pretty real to me."

"Vampires don't exist dumb ass; they're just trying to draw a bigger crowd."

"And it's certainly working. I'm not even sure that everyone in line will be able to get in."

All in all it was a relief to duck under the velvet rope and escape into the building on the other side; not before noticing the blue and white neon sign proclaimed the name of the club and an icon of the Wings of Freedom. The interior was dark, large and-for the moment-most empty. The floor was pale grey tile, and a mini bar was situated off to one side. Multicolored strobe lights hung from the ceiling, flashing burning hues of all colors through the dry ice mist clogging the room. Music already thudded through the speakers hidden around the room, shaking the floor as the opening approached.

"We're certainly going to rake in _a lot_ tonight." Eren all but purred as he walked up to them, dressed in what had become his usual clothing; Kahki pants and a long sleeved dark green shirt. "You've seen the line, I trust?"

"Whatever you did to advertise us, keep doing it."

"Thank you, but I didn't really do much of anything so I don't think that I deserve much credit." He replied. "I hope that you're ready for the debut of the uniform; the one I'll be wearing tonight has a few alterations, but they won't affect too much."

He raised a thin, sharp eyebrow. "Do you have something planned, brat?"

Eren waggled his eyebrows suggestively in response before grinning. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. We'll just have to wait and see now won't we?" Raising the card board tube for them to seem he popped off the lid and pulled out the rolled up scroll inside. "Hanji prepared my deposition for me; I'm going to give a small speech before opening the doors to the public. It's about that time now; care to join me?"

"It sounds like a good idea for you to help him with the speech, Rivaille."

"And just where are you planning to run off to, eyebrows tree?"

"I'll be in here; we both heard their conversations walking up here. They all went to see the 'couple' so let's give them what they want."

The shortest of the three emitted a small annoyed sigh bur resigned himself to a fate of once again catering to the wishes of the smiling brunet. "Very well, brat. Let's go and get this speech over with." A difference of almost 10 inches lead him to almost running to keep up with the other as he streaked across the room and re-emerged into the spring night with scroll and microphone in hand.

"Oh wow, the line got even bigger!" He noted helpfully the moment they were out there, drawing the attention of a couple hundred immediately. "Good evening everybody, how are you all doing tonight?" a chorus of cheers answered his question. "Ready to party? I certainly know I am! But first I'd like to take 5 minutes of your time to give a dedication. Just give me a moment here." Fiddling with the ties for a second or two he finally managed to get them undone and unfurled the scroll. The moment he caught sight of the atrocious chicken scratch Rivaille knew that this ship was about to start sinking fast; the crazed glasses-wearing self-proclaimed scientist's handwriting was so bad that it more closely resembled Egyptian Hieroglyphs than any form of English, so he was more than mildly surprised when he managed to make it a full three sentences in before hitting his first road block. Eren turned the page left and right, and then tried turning his head instead, but all to no avail as whatever the word was supposed to be refused to come into focus. Patience running out the raven all but tore it out of his hands to decipher it for himself and a few moments later was struck by inspiration.

"Though! It's fucking though!" Apparently this statement came out far louder than he'd meant to because a number in the crowd looked stricken and Eren was bright pink.

"Well," he said quickly, "in that case, I hope it's having a good time." The momentary awkwardness faded again into laughter; naturally a joke like that was just the type of a bunch of stupid teenagers would find funny. "We're just going to call the dedication off short while we bring a translator for...whatever language this is. I hope that you all enjoy yourselves tonight; welcome to the Wings of Freedom." Unlatching the velvet rope he hastily stepped aside to allow the first of a very long stream to storm the floor. "That went over well."

"No shit, Sherlock." His companion grumbled as they made their way around to the back door for easier re-entry. "I hope that you've learned to be more careful when asking somebody to write a speech for you. The handwriting doesn't have to belong to a fucking monk, but legibility is helpful!"

"She offered and I didn't really think about it as much as I probably should have." The brunet admitted with a sheepish grin. "Ready to see the lower level?"

"Yes, please," there was marked distaste in his gaze as he observed the rapidly filling room. Eren just sighed and took his hand, pulling the raven along with him to a door clearly marked V.I.P.

"Promise me something, would you?" he asked as the door was opened to reveal a stair case. "Try to enjoy yourself at least a little. Even if it's just for tonight. This isn't the Thorn; you don't have to worry about propriety and judgement.

"Plus you have that little 'surprise' planned for me."

A shadow of his usual smile returned. "And there's that as well. So will you?"

Rivaille sighed, his ice storm colored eyes clashing with the other's calm sea foam pools. "I'll try, chouchou. But that is all that I can promise."

It wasn't quite what I had wanted to hear, that much was clearly evident in the slight disappointment and worry on his face, but it would have to be enough. A part of him had hoped that having the Flügel built would create a place in which the raven would feel comfortable enough to come out of his shell the way that he did whenever the couple was alone so that the others-especially Erwin-could see at least a small portion of who he really was but at the same time another part-equally small but far more sensible-know that if that even happened it would take a very long time indeed. Eren hadn't pried into his lover's past much beyond what few tidbits he'd been given but he knew that the secret to why he had grown to be so closed off and distant lay there, and that it had likely happened at the hand of Kenny. Once more hatred flared white hot within him, scalding his heart as worry and stress once again threatened to boil over. Never was there anything, Human or Vampire, that he hated more than he hated that man. But he had to get control of himself before the other picked up on his distress; it was meant to be a night of calm for them both. "I'm glad that you're willing to do that. It will be good for you to open up to more people, Levi."

The lower floor was much finer adorned than the club scene up stairs, similar music playing though at a lower volume with a bar located near the stairs serving both drinks and blood. A gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling, its sterling silver branches flowering outward with pale blue crystals which cast a soothing cool glow over the dim space. The floors were covered in a thin layer of plush black carpet, the darkly painted walls hung with the blue and white banners depicting the Legion's symbol and a variety of tasteful leather furniture had been spread throughout. A small raised stage reared up from the floor at the front of the enormous room, nothing out of place about it aside from the lone metal pole rising out of the center. He raised an eyebrow and turned to question the brunet on the matter only to discover that he'd disappeared. Pushing his curiosity on the matter to the back of his mind, he instead made his way over to the pair that he had spotted sitting at the bar.

"He's something else, I'll give him that much." Farlan muttered, holding a cup of wine in one hand as he gazed around at the room with a muted expression of awe.

"Who?" the raven questioned, sliding into the unoccupied chair on his friend's other side and motioning for the bar keep's attention. "Wine; red. I couldn't give a rat's ass what kind."

"Eren," he clarified. "Didn't you hear about how he decorated the lower floor himself or did he not tell you?"

"Hey, I helped too!" Isabelle complained loudly at not being included from Farlan's left, all but crawling into his lap to make sure that the shorter raven could hear her part of the conversation he was unlucky enough to be sitting in between. "He needed help moving the furniture _and _I designed the upstairs."

"Interesting," he tried to pacify her as he took a sip of the wine that he had been passed. "Where the hell did he manage to find that light fixture? I feel like I'm on the bottom of the ocean with all of the blue everywhere."

"Apparently it was special ordered from a jeweler; it's real silver and the crystals are blue agate or something like that."

"Bet the poor bastard doesn't get many orders like that."

"I'd bet not."

The blue glow was relaxing and easy on the eyes, the polar opposite of the hellish red tinted glass bulbs of the Devil's Thorn and though there were many more people there then could ever have fit in the Thorn the room still managed to seem to stretch on forever likely due to the illusion cast by the black painted walls. "You both know that I am not a social butterfly by any means but…I could get used to this."

"Are you drunk already Rivi?" Isabelle asked, causing Farlan to dissolve into a fit of laughter.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous!" But the hard edge to his voice was not quite as cutting as usual. "Though I can understand why you'd think that. Do either of you have any idea where Eren ran off to; he disappeared once we got down here."

"Went to change; he's on stage showing off the uniform now."

Turning around to look, the raven inhaled his drink out of pure shock and immediately started coughing. Eren had just jumped up onto the stage wearing the tightest pair of pants he'd ever seen; they looked like they'd bee spray painted onto his body. Somehow managing to find the other's eyes in the crowd; he grinned and sauntered across the stage to solve the mystery of the seemingly out of place pole as the song changed and someone turned up the volume to blasting. He wasn't really going to….yes he was. Holy shit! Rivaille physically couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from the sight of Eren twinning his body around the pole, legs that stretched a mile holding him in place as he flipped over before sliding downwards, shirt rucking up around the lightly defined muscles of his midsection; he rolled lithely back up onto his feet in accordance to whatever routine he'd practiced-as practicing he had been-hooking one leg around the pole before sending his body spinning around its newfound axis in a whirl of dark green. Others were cheering him on and enjoying the show as the raven was reduced to hiding himself under the bar as the discomfort of his too tight pants became too much to bare. "Fuck!" Farlan glanced over at him and smirked knowingly but Rivaille was too busy undressing Eren with his eyes to notice. His eyes looked more dovelike than ever before and yet the fire blazing within them was the furthest thing imaginable from chaste, pupils dilated darker than black around a thin sliver of jade; his pink lips formed into a perfect o as his eyes slid shut and he dropped against the pole, spreading his legs sensually to allow the cold metal to run against his hips. In the end it became too much for him to bare and before the end of the performance he had to rush to the bathroom to relieve himself. Eren was finished with his little show by the time he got back out, still in the incredibly tight uniform. Seeing him, he walked over and draped his arms around his shoulders.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

"Hot damn, brat. Where the shitting hell did you learn to pole dance?" he was entirely confident that that was not something included on the curriculum of the order's academy."

"Places," he answered vaguely, leaving it at that. "And you're not about to ask me how I'm walking in pants this tight…it's a developed tolerance."

"Do I want to know?" he snickered, swiping an ordever from a passing tray and using it as a tool to silence the brunet when he opened his mouth to answer. "No, I don't."

"Have things your way, then. Be ignorant to my many secrets." The only reply to this was a roll of his icy eyes. "We should go and dance."

"Dance?"

He nodded. "Yes, dance. I'm sure that, in you're 500+ years of living, you've heard the term at least once?"

"No need to get smart brat," the raven drawled. "You want to dance, fine. Is there any waltz music on that playlist of yours? Some salsa, perhaps?" Eren couldn't help but make a face. "What?"

"You; you're so high bred." He replied, tugging gently on the other's sleeve. "I meant upstairs."

"That's not dancing, brat, that's having sex through your clothes."

"Try it once and I'll never ask you to do it again. I'll even let you enroll me in lessons of what you call 'real' dancing." The brunet flashed him a disarming smile. "Please."

Rivaille sighed. "Fine, if it will really make you happy I'll allow you to drag me into this _just this once." _The next thing he knew Eren was pulling him along like a dog on a leash; up the stairs and out of the door back into the pooling mist and flashing neon lights of the floor above. Then music throbbed and thudded even louder than it had before, the hot air filled with the smell of sweat and alcohol as the pair managed to push their way through the mass of writhing bodies. "You consider this fun?" He had to yell over the din. "I just find it claustrophobic."

"It feels that way at first yeah. But you forget all about it once you start enjoying yourself. It's fun!" The teen replied. "You know what that is, right? Fun? Spelled F-U-N."

He stepped pointedly on the other's foot earning a small grunt of pain. "Watch it, brat. I might just have to punish you later; is that what you want?"

"If I say yes?"

"Idiot." Now he pouted. "Are we just going to stand here all night or are we going to do what we came up here for?"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about the dancing!" He perked up immediately, green eyes as bright as ever.

"Well then, how do we do this?" the raven asked him. "Is there a particular step? Where do I put my hands; the shoulder? The hip?"

"Does it look like a waltz to you?" Eren demanded with a giggle. "You don't put your hands anywhere, per say, and there's no particular step either. Just feel the music, let it move you; loosen up. Watch me." After witnessing one x-rated performance by the boy that night he was sure that the last thing he needed was another one even as he began to dance. He couldn't call it a dance in the traditional sense; there was nothing precise or even remotely graceful about the loose, almost uncoordinated gyration of his hips and yet still it made him look radiant; the soft glow which always seeped from his golden skin seemed to set the very air around him on fire. It was foolish. Simple. Confident. He'd cut loose; didn't care who was watching or what they thought of him. All at once he found himself envying the way with which the brunet would share what he truly thought and felt, would open himself to the world. He found himself determined to match him; to do it to, even if only for the matter of a few passing moments. "It's not hard at all. Try it." The rhythm of the music thudding constantly beneath his feet; the intoxicated flash of the acidic lights, the sight of the other's example before him. Hesitant and first and somewhat stiffly, Rivaille joined the teen in what he had referred to as 'modern dance'. "There you go, you're getting it. But loosen up a bit, this is a club not a public execution." Slowly the swaying of his hips became more pronounced until he was near to matching the confidence of the ever blazing brunet; he didn't notice they'd crossed the floor of the club in an offbeat sort of fox trot until they'd arrived at the bar and Eren, bottle of neon gold Corona in hand, began grinding his back against the elder's front. A low growl bubbled in the back of his throat, hands dropping down to cup the teen's plump ass as he ground harder against him in retaliation.

"You're just doing this to tease me, aren't you." His voice caught low, rumbling deep in his chest.

"Maybe just a little," Eren replied with his usual carefree laugh; his ocher tresses slightly damp with the salty tang of sweat which coated his frame in a light sheen and left the clothes he wore sticking to him. "But can you really blame me? You're fairly easy to work up."

"Haha; says the one who-given the right taunting-can't go three minutes without throwing a punch." Pushing his face into the clothed crook of the other's neck and shoulder Rivaille bit down gently, careful not to peirce the fabric of the cut off jacket that he wore but making it so that the other could feel the slight pinching pressure. "I know full well that, should I want to, lighting a fire under you is even easier."

"But do you?" only the superior hearing of his kind allowed his ears to catch the words spoken in a husky whisper.

"Well, that really depends."

"On what, exactly?"

"Whether or not you're willing to leave early."

"Early?" Downing the remaining contents of the bottle in his hand, he tossed it across the room and somehow managed to sink the glass projectile into the trashcan. "How about now?"

"Sounds marvelous to me." Though, he hated to admit it, he really was having quite a bit of fun. "I'll go and find Eyebrows to tell him that we're off. You took the car here, I trust?" Nodding, Eren held up the keys which had been stashed away in his pocket. "I'll be out to join you in a moment."


	25. Great Escape

Morning saw the pair in bed as had become many months the norm, tangled up with the sheets and with each other drowsing but not really asleep as the freshly minted rays of the sun filtered in through the curtains hanging over the windows. Eren sighed and rolled over, feeling the raven's powerful arms tighten and then relax around his waist.

"Levi." The shorter of the two acknowledged him with a sleepy grunt but didn't open his eyes. "Levi."

"What, brat?" grey blue orbs peered up blearily through a frame of long black lashes. "It's way too damn early to wake up after how later our night went."

"I know and I'm not planning to wake up yet, but I need to tell you something that is kind of important; with everything that was going on last night it wasn't a good idea to worry about it but now that all of that is over-."

"You're worrying about it?" the brunet nodded mutely. "So this thing that you're about to tell me is, I assume, what was bothering you last night?"

"It was that obvious?"

"Only to someone who knows you as well as I do," he replied, abruptly serious and with all thoughts of sleep forgotten. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

"Well, you remember a few months back when I talked to you about kids?"

"Please tell me you're not about to admit that you allowed Hanji to experiment on you with some form of spell or chemical that now led to you somehow being pregnant against all known laws of nature."

A nervous laugh escaped him. "N-No, nothing quite that bad. It's just…when I was 15 I mentored a first year by name of Asher Graham; he called me 'big brother' and from time to time he'd get back into contact with me when he needed help. I hadn't heard word from him in almost a year, and then yesterday I got an email from him."

"And?"

"He and three other students have deserted the Academy and are headed here to try and join up with us instead; we're going to have to finish training them, and send someone to the way point bus station between here and Rose to collect them when they arrive."

"There's no way to divert the brats?"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that at this point."

"Tch, figures." He sighed and flopped back down onto the pillows. "Who ever said two men can't have children? It looks like the stork just decided to ship us a quartet of quarrelsome micro-brats."

Eren couldn't help but laugh.

"I cannot believe that you were dumb enough to put it somewhere where it was that easily found!"

"I put it in the false bottom of a drawer! That's hardly plain sight, Asher! But you didn't give me enough warning to be able to replace the hard drive before we had to turn the computer over, and the fact that it was missing tipped them off!"

"You should have destroyed it, then!"

"You're the one who told him not to!"

"_All of you, stop fighting!"_ Silence immediately filled the room, three sets of hostile eyes turning to look at her. "They're up there right this very moment breaking the passwords on that hard drive; if they do that they'll find everything. The fliers, the tickets, the video and where it was sent. Instead of squabbling, we should be packing especially considering the bus leaves in an hour!"

"Athena is right," reluctantly Asher backed off of the smaller boy. "Grab what you need and nothing more; we walk until we can hitch a ride."

"Forget hitch hiking, we can just steal one of the cars that the 104th came in; I can hot wire a car and it's not that difficult to drive a stick shift, right?"

"Probably not. Let's give it a try!"

"How many passwords does this damn thing have?" Ymir demanded after seeing what had to be the 20th request for a password pop up on the monitor's little screen.

"A lot," the blonde replied quietly, his brow furrowed in concentration as he entered in the required bypass commands. "Which simply goes to reinforce the fact that there is something on here that they don't want us to see." A few more seconds of clattering keys later, the desk top's contents were finally revealed. "Here we are; it seems we've definitely smoked them out. The flier is right here." A click later the familiar imposing image had sprung forward to take up the entire screen.

"We've got them," a sigh of relief.

"Yes, we've got them and as far as evidence goes this is all we really need. However," Armin's blue eyes narrowed slightly as the flier was dismissed, "I think we should look into this further; there may be evidence of future plans or even contact with the Legion on here. We should cover our bases, just in case."

"He's right," Krista agreed calmly. "But while we do that a few of us should go and make sure that they don't do anything more to further they cause."

Mikasa stood up immediately. "I'll go."

"Bert and I will go with you. To protect the kids." The three of them promptly exited the room, leaving the others to their work dissecting the contents of the computer. "So," Reiner asked her as they headed for the stairs, "what's the story behind you and that Graham kid constantly death glaring at each other all of the damn time?"

"Aside from the fact that I have known since day one that he is nothing but trouble?" her raised an eyebrow in a silent request for her to elaborate. "The little bastards is a medicated schizophrenic with psychopathic tendencies _and_ worships the ground on which my brother walks!" _And knows too much._

"So he fits the profile exactly?" she nodded. "Why the hell didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I did, to Armin, but at the time there wasn't enough evidence for us to do anything." She replied coldly. "This is his room; get ready for a struggle when we jump the snake!" Though the door clearly wasn't locked it didn't stop her from kicking it open with a violent strike of the heel of her boot; it flew open and banged against the wall to reveal an empty room. An upturned mattress lay crooked on the bed, the sheets torn free and school belongings tossed carelessly about, drawers ripped open with clothing oozing out as if the former occupant had thrown whatever he could get his hands on into a bag before beating a hasty retreat. Staked to the wall by the blade of a combat knife was a small note which read **TOO LATE.**

"Damn it!"

"Fan out; search the second and first year dorms for the other three!"

Running footsteps as the trio hurried down the stairs and through the hallways; doors banging open to reveal empty rooms all in similar states of disarray; shouting voices as they barked commands for students-awoken by the ruckus and curiously peering out of doorways-to go back to bed immediately.

"Did you find any of them?"

"No," Berthold replied, murky green eyes showing a magnified version of his usual nervousness which had only been amplified by the situation at hand. "They're gone; all four of them."

"It was bad enough when it was Jӓger-a fully trained fellow elite-and his pet parasite were the ones pulling out strings but four untrained _children?_" Reiner growled, looking furious. "Why are we always two steps behind these bastards? They can't really be that good!"

"It isn't any skill they have Braun. They're simply preying off of the fact that our defenses and concentration are stretched thin and fractured between multiple enemies." Mikasa replied starkly. "We're dealing with, as you said, untrained children. They won't get very far without transportation."

"They have that too now, I'm afraid." Marco said as he hurried towards them. "The truck is gone; they hot-wired it and, though they probably can't drive worth half a shit, they're long gone."

"Do we have any idea where they could be headed?"

He nodded. "We found an online purchase of tickets to a bus station half way between Rose and Maria. The bar left 40 minutes ago, but if we take the car that's left to the station they're set to stop at we should be able to reach it first."

"Who's set to go Marco?" she asked him, grey eyes fixing on him hawkishly.

"Given the situation we all thought that it would be best that I take Armin and Krista with me."

"I'm coming too!"

"No, you're not!" The sudden stern tone in the other's usually mild voice was enough to make her falter slightly in surprise. "I'm sorry Mikasa but you've already shown yourself to be too invested in this as it is. And I apologize for saying this, but we all feel that you haven't been acting like yourself lately. If we let you go with us we're afraid that your emotions will get the better of you."

"…" for a moment it seemed as if she would lash out at him, either with words or with her fists, but then it passed and her usual composer returned. "Don't let them get away this time." With that, she turned and retreated back up the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be going, then?" the blonde asked him.

"Yeah, you're right." Casting one more concerned and nervous glance after their companion he added "try and figure out what's up with her while we're gone, please. We need her skill in the coming fights and with her mind going the way it is she'll end up getting herself or one of us killed."

"We'll try, but she's never exactly been forward with her feelings and the only one who could make her spill-really spill-was Eren." Reiner grumbled. "Want to try calling him?" but the freckled raven brushed the sarcasm off and walked away to join the others who were already waiting out front in the car.

"That last bit wasn't really called for; I think you know that." The taller of the two stated as they set out back up the staircase. The wider set male simply snorted at him.

"I don't know about you, but lately I've started to give less and less of a shit about what is 'called for' and what isn't with every passing day." He grunted as they reached the top to find her staring out the window looking down at the car as it pulled away and drove off into the night. "Let's try this; Oi, Ackerman, what the hell is your _real _problem? You seem to have a stick up your ass; care to share?"

Her grey eyes shifter over to fixate on him in a glare threatening enough to reduce the timid Berthold to fold himself in half in an effort to hide behind his shoulder friend. "_Bakka_!" She hissed before turning on her heel and storming away.

"That went over well."

"_Are you trying to get the both of us killed!_" But the blonde just ignored him and they returned to the room where the others were waiting.

"Berthold are you alright? You look like you just stared death in the face."

"It was Mikasa; I saw my life flash before my eyes!" His legs were shaking so badly that he had to sit down.

"Oh don't be so dramatic I just asked her a question; probably her time of months is all. Which reminds me," he turned to Armin, "you understand at least a little Japanese after knowing her for so long, right? Care to enlighten me as to what the hell bakka means?"

"In simple terms, she called you a moron." All eyes in the room turned to Ymir in surprise. "What? I'm capable of using google translate too, you know."

"She's just upset, don't let it get to you." The blonde replied, powering down the computer in his hands.

"But it takes a whole hell of a lot to make her upset, especially to this degree."

"And a whole hell of a lot has happened," he said as he got to his feet. "Which is why I am going to head over and talk to her; I assume that she's hold up in the room at the moment."

"Careful Arlert, she looked about ready to attack Bodt earlier."

"I know how to handle her, even without Eren here to back me up; I'll be alright on my own." Leaving the others behind he set off down the hallway and made his way towards the unused dorm room where they'd been sleeping during their time there. Sure enough, he found the other right where he thought he would. "Mikasa, what are you doing?"

"Packing," she replied bluntly, stuffing a handful of supplies into her bag.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going back to the barracks!" Crossing the room again she gathered another few things before returning to the bag and dropping them in with a quiet clatter. "You're right, I'm too affected by all of this. So I'm removing myself from this investigation for a while in hopes that I'll be able to calm down."

"But…tonight? We don't have any cars left; at least wait until morning."

"No,"

"But-."

"We're a mile outside of the city; I'll walk!" Flipping the top of the bag shut she fitted the buckles into place before hoisting it carelessly over one shoulder, her black hair cascading wildly about her face from the wild movement. "Tell the others that I'll see them as soon as you're all finished here."

"Are you really sure about this? It's dangerous out there, and not just because of the Legion and Military Police."

Her grey eyes fell on him with nothing but their usual calm. "I'll be fine, Armin."

"That's what Eren said too, and look where he is now!"

"All due respect I think I can handle a couple of squirrels and an oak tree on my own!" Turning away, Mikasa made her way towards the bedroom door. "I guess I'll see you in a few days." Before he could say anything else she was gone, leaving the worried blonde standing around in the middle of the otherwise empty room.

The bus terminal was filled with people either sitting calmly in one of the multiple rows of empty chairs, buying tickets for travel at the booths or rushing from place to place in an effort to catch a bus that they were late for or else ensure they got the best seat available. The appearance of its interior, though much smaller in scale, was reminiscent of an airport and the freezing stale air smelled like rubber, old food and something pungent and vaguely similar to sweaty socks. The three had piled into Marco's little four door and peeled out the moment they were able and had arrived at the station a full half hour before the bus that they were waiting for was slated to and now, with only five minutes left to spare, all three were staring intently at the clock hanging from the ceiling above their heads. What would happen when the Grey Hound pulled into the station? Would they come quietly? Fight? Take hostages? Would they even be on that bus at all?

"Oh, are the three of you waiting on someone too?" a very loud and overly friendly voice exclaimed from a few feet away. Looking up, he was met with the sight of a rather psychotic looking woman dressed entirely in purple with a lavender lab coat thrown over her clothing, long brown hair pinned back in a messy ponytail by what looked like broken pencils and large thick glasses with lenses smudged with fingerprints. A tall man who appeared to be her company stood nearby on the phone; he was dressed normally in a t shirt and faded jeans with blonde hair cut short. "I'm Hanji. Hanji Zoe. A chemist and professor at one of the nearby universities. I'm here waiting on my nephew and his three friends!"

"O-Oh, uh…nice to meet you." Who was this woman and why was she so…friendly? Krista and Marco both attempted to be cordial but Annie, true to form, was already glaring white hot daggers; seeming to sense their discomfort the blonde man hung up the cell phone and replaced it in his pocket.

"Leave them be, Hanji."

"Ah, come on! You're getting to be just as bad as Shortstack in your old age!" She whined, though appeared far from phased. "Speaking of Shorty, is he coming or not?"

"They're about to walk in the doors as we speak; should be here by the time the bus pulls in." Silence fell again, the two groups once more returning to themselves.

"That woman is strange," Krista said with a shudder. "And something about that man is too intense; it's not normal."

"Is it me," Annie hissed as the bus they'd been waiting on pulled to a stop, "or does this feel like a set up to anyone else?"

"Too late now," Marco replied as the bus door swung open and Asher appeared on the stairs. "They're here." Amber eyes flashed over the crowd, seeming to fixate on them a split second before the boy charged forwards. What was he planning? To push passed them? Was he armed? Not seeming to even notice they were there the 12 year old launched himself into the air in an almost feline pounce with an excited shout of 'big brother!' slamming into the chest of the brunet with force enough to wind him, nearly sending him toppling over onto the shorter raven who had been bringing up the rear.

"You never said anything about them being high strung too." He grumbled as Eren righted himself.

"Right now, I think hyper activity is the least of our problems." He replied, peeling the smaller boy off of himself as the other three left the bus with their bags only to promptly freeze on the stairs with frightened looks at the sight of the three Hunters waiting for them. "Evening guys. Any particular reason to come all the way out here? Surely it wasn't to see me for a friendly chat, though if you'd like to come over for tea you're welcome to; I'm sure Levi wouldn't mind."

"No, it wasn't anything to do with you. You showing up here was an unforeseen and most unpleasant complication!" Annie snarled at him. "We're here for the juvenile delinquents; hand over the kids and we'll let you and your Vampire walk away this time around."

"Hand them over?" he repeated. "And why would I want to do that, knowing the amount of trouble that these four are in. Not," his green eyes swiveled downwards and Asher cringed slightly, "that they'll go undisciplined by me, I assure you."

"Eren, we're appealing to the reason that we full well know you still have! There's three of us and two of you; you're outnumbered."

"It never ceases to amaze me how flat out stupid you people can be." Levi drawled, "Your friends here need to brush up on their basic math; counting the not-even-teenaged-yet terrors I see eight of us."

"You don't want to do this here, Hunters." The blonde man interjected, supporting the others. "None of us want civilians as collateral damage."

"You'd threaten the public?" Krista looked aghast.

"This is precisely the reason I can't stand being at your stupid academy anymore!" Asher drawled at her from where he stood still pressed up against Eren's side. "All of you are too dumb to deal with! They didn't threaten the public, they simply made an observation about what would happen if we fought!"

"Tch, I like this kid."

"Of course you do," the brunet said with a small sigh. "Do me a favor, don't teach them anything bad."

"I think they're passed the age where 'fuck' is an unknown expletive, brat." He drawled as the other three academy escapees hurried over. "Shitty four eyes, take the kids to the car; Eren, I doubt that he'll willingly let go of you for the moment so to avoid a public screaming match I'm sending you with them. Erwin and I will continue with our…civil discussion with your friends."

"I trust your judgement and ability to deal with the three of them if you have to." Leaning down due to their difference in height, the brunet delivered a quick peck to the raven's cheek before abruptly turning business like. "Alright you four, you may have left the academy but that doesn't give you any right to relax. You want to be a beneficial addition to the Legion? Then you'll pull your weight!"

_"Yes, Sir!"_ Said loudly enough to draw the attention of a few passersby as the four gave the best salute they could.

_Needs a little work-especially since Asher is slouching-but passable for the moment._ Nodding, he glanced towards the other three again. "Hopefully, the next time the three of us speak it will be on better terms; send my most heartfelt regards to my sister and don't forget to tell her that I miss her." Eren walked off with Hanji and the four children on his heels, leaving Rivaille and Erwin to deal with the three Hunters who were becoming more and more nervous under the calm gazes of the two oldest Vampires they'd ever faced.

"So," the blonde finally broke the silence that had fallen over the group party to the confrontation, "what are you planning to do with them, Rivaille?

"Unless you had some other plan, Eyebrows, I had planned to let them go." He replied. "If they had infiltrated our territory again their punishment would be different, but that is neither here nor there."

"I have no such other plans, but this rather goes against your sadistic reputation."

"At this point the only pain and suffering that I crave would be wrenched from the members of the Military Police and my Uncle. Tormenting them is meaningless." He replied, eyes shifting over the three of them before again settling on Marco. "How is your friend doing? The horsefaced one? I believe that he sustained a rather badly broken leg from the fall, but other than that emerged unscathed."

"Why does his condition matter to you?" Annie hissed at him.

"Because if I hadn't dragged his sorry ass clear of that collapsing tower you'd have found him crushed into a paste underneath a rock." An almost indignant tone laced his voice at this point.

"Speaking of the Tower you've yet to fully recover from your injuries Rivaille. A confrontation now would not be good for either side."

"Yes, yes I'm well aware." He replied while carefully checking his nails; now that they really looked this movements of this Vampire in particular were unusually stiff. "Shall we take our leave, then?"

"If you're finished with them I see no reason to remain further. However, I don't think it is a good idea to simply leave them to their own devices."

"Ah, good point." His gaze was noticeably colder now. "Come along, Huntards. We'll show you out to your car." Flanked on either side by the pair they had little choice but to go along with what they wanted as they were escorted back to the vehicle. Once outside the raven opened the car door for Marco, leering at him as the taller younger boy inched passed him and made it into the car as Annie slipped into the passenger seat and Krista took shelter in the back. "I advise that you leave now, while we're graciously extending you this chance to emerge unscathed. If you insist on doing something stupid, like hanging around, then I promise that you will not escape punishment. Do try your best to have a good day." Rivaille slammed the car door far harder than he needed to, turned on his heel and stalked away with Eren behind him.

"Well, at least we made it out of that one." Marco said with a shiver, leaning to the side to start the car with shaking hands. "We'll have to report another failure but at least we can get out of here without any of us being hurt."

"And now we know that Rivaille is injured," Annie pointed out as the car pulled out of the lot and onto the street. "We should report that fact to our superiors immediately; we can use it to our advantage in the future."

Yet another bottle drained and yet still her throat burned; the thin plastic crunched beneath her fist, the lid flying off from the pressure and slamming into the far wall. Her mouth was dry, her chest aching as she panted, curled into a protective ball beneath the covers of her bed in a suddenly swelteringly hot room. Dragging herself up onto shaky feet she crossed the floor to stand before the mirror; eye aflame the color of burning embers and teeth sharpened near to fangs. What was happening to her? Why, of all times, did this have to happen now? It had never been a problem before! Did knowing really make that much of a difference? The glass was cold beneath her touch, her clean hands leaving no prints behind. The far off clunking of crutches moved down the hallway towards her, stopping suddenly just outside of the dorm room door; a shuffle, something-likely a crutch-banging against the floor as it was dropped and a hiss of 'fucking…shit!' followed by more clunking as the responsible part attempted to collect the item. Finally, a knock descended on the door. "Mikasa, are you in there? They told me that you came back before the others."

"Yes Jean, I'm back. D-Don't come in! I'm…changing."

"Well, when you're finished come to the office. Commander Shadis wants to speak to you."

"O-Oh. I'll be right there!" Acting quickly, she scrambled to put the contacts back into place to stifle some of the glow and restore them to their usual grey color and swiftly clipped the talons that had regrown at the tips of her fingers. Downing another half a bottle of water, she fixed her hair into something that was at the very least presentable and left the dorm to report to their superior. She found Jean already there, looking somewhat pained and haggard and leaning on his crutches with his cast-bound leg stretched out before him. "Are the others not back yet?"

"They're finishing cleaning up at the academy, Ackerman." The commander informed her. "Bodt called in almost an hour ago; the deserter children reached the safety of the Legion before they could be apprehended. It would seem the 'Wings of Freedom' are happy to take in Hunters as long as they speak to denounce the Rose. Kirschein here has an idea that we could implement that would employ that fact to our advantage and allow us to leverage a heart strike at the only thing holding the tenuous bonds of the Legion together; Eren Jӓger. With him dead and Erwin and his turned framed with his blood on their hands Rivaille and his pure bloods will turn on them and the infighting will wipe them out. But in order for this to work, we'd need someone both with the ability to quickly gain his total trust and get out of Maria undiscovered once the assassination is carried through. You, given both your rank as the 104th's top graduate and the fact that you are his sister, make you perfect for the job."

Assassinate her own brother? Even if he had turned on them it wasn't a thought that she cared to entertain. His possible execution had been hard enough to stomach but the thought of having his blood be directly on her hands was a little bit too much. "I don't know about this, sir." Then again, it could be a good thing for her. Infiltrating the Legion would bring her closer to other half bloods who could teach her to better control and conceal her emerging nature. "I'd like to be given a chance to consult my team on the matter. I feel that, despite my ideal circumstantial ability to carry out this job, my presence would be better served here."

"I cannot allow you to do that; in order for this to look legitimate it must be the belief of the others as well that you are in fact a traitor. You're going to have to decide quickly whether or not you are willing to follow through with this, as if so the others will be informed that after leaving the academy on foot you never made it back here. You'll pass information that you may uncover on their plans in the mean time to Kirschtein. Is that clear?"

"Are you requiring me by order to do this, Sir?" there was almost a cold tone in her voice.

"I'm ordering you to consider it, nothing more. This task is too dangerous to rightly require it of you, however it may well be the thing which spares us from destruction."

So they'd employ the guilt trip as well; save us, you're the only one who can. She gritted her teeth, standing firm a moment longer before relenting with a sigh. "Very well. I'll do it. Just give me a moment to grab what I need."


	26. Insurgent

She'd grabbed what could be stuffed into a small bag before leaving the barracks behind in the middle of the night, in a hurry to put some distance between herself and the barracks before the others returned and realized that she was gone knowing that their first reaction would likely be to look for her but hadn't realized until it was too late to turn around and go back that she'd left her wallet behind. No wallet meant no money, which meant no bus ticket or cab rides, which meant that she would have to walk all the way to Maria-a distance that took four hours in a car-unless by some miracle she managed to catch a ride from a passing car and with no one out on the roads that didn't seem like much of an option for at least another handful of hours. When she'd passed the bus station and left Rose City behind the night was cold and windy and being left to shiver alone in the darkness without even a single star to light the way had been bad enough but on top of that-as days and nights alike were prone to doing in Spring-it absolutely _had_ to suddenly start sheeting down rain as well. It wasn't as if turning around was an option and her pride wasn't about to allow her to be forced off of the shoulder of the road by a little bit of rain, so she bowed her head against the gale and continued onwards. It felt like only a matter of moments spent slogging through mud up to her calves later that she was soaked through to the bone, clothing water logged and hair dripping into her face. How tempting the thought of calling her brother and pleading with her to come and get her was in that moment was too much to ignore, though with the amount of water that had made her way into her pocket she had serious doubts about whether her cellphone would even still work. Pulling it out, she unlocked the screen and hit speed dial seconds before two enormous droplets exploded across it. Thankfully the dial tone persisted and a few hollow rings later there was a click and he picked up.

"'llo?" the sleepy, somewhat disoriented answer of her brother-who she'd clearly woken up-answered the phone.

"Eren," it very nearly came out as a whine as the shivering became harder. "P-Please. I'm on the road outside of Rose headed to Maria; I forgot my wallet at the barracks when I left and don't have money for a bus ticket. It's raining and freezing. Please, I need you to come and get me." Sounding more pitiful than she ever had in her life wasn't all that hard given the situation at hand and seemed to be helping her case up until the point where the cellphone was pried out of her brother's hand and a much colder voice reached her ear through the line instead.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my little lost cousin." Rivaille. She certainly wouldn't be winning any pity points from him. "You call, out of nowhere, in the middle of the fucking night and ask him to go running out to some isolated road close to Rose to 'pick you up'? For all that we know this is some sort of half-assed attempt at a trap!" a muffled statement from Eren of 'if you don't want me to go just tell me, you don't have to hold me down!' filled the momentary silence as he formulated his next words. "I'll send someone to get you but it won't be Jӓger, and only if you give me a damn good reason to believe that this isn't just a set up."

"I don't believe in what you're doing and I've far from forgiven Eren for turning on us; I don't support your actions or your 'dream'…but I can't control myself anymore and turning to you is my only hope of learning how." It was the closest to the truth that she could offer at the moment and her only hope was that he would believe it.

"Do you have your coordinates?"

"No, but I'm about a 15 minute's drive outside of Rose city."

"Stay where you are and try to find some shelter. It'll send someone to collect you right away." The line went dead seconds later leaving her alone on the dark road with a dial tone and the rain.

Hobbling into the mess hall the next morning on his crutches, Jean spotted the other members of the 104th and quickly headed over to them, seating himself at the table with only minor difficulty before pulling the nearest plate of food closer.

"Have any of you seen Mikasa today?" he asked, making an effort to be nonchalant and failing at it rather miserably.

"Not yet," one of the boys piped up. "She's probably still asleep; she left the academy early last night."

"Well, if she is sleeping in she's not doing it in the dorms. None of us have seen her all night." Ymir told him bluntly, picking up her cup of black coffee. "Honestly horseface, when are you going to get it passed your thick skull that she's not in to you?"

"Jean's obsessive crush aside what do you mean you haven't seen her?" the tone of Armin's voice was immediately serious. "She wasn't in the dorms when you got back?"

"No, and nothing was disturbed either so it's not as if she got here and then left again." Annie replied calmly. "Do you think that something could have happened to her? She might just have stopped at a hotel for the night because of the storm."

"I don't know; she'd have contacted us by now if that was the case." His worried expression didn't falter as he pulled his cellphone from his pocket. "I'll see if I can get a hold of her." Nine other pairs of eyes rested on him as he quickly entered in the familiar number before waiting for a reply. A handful of rings went unanswered before the automized voicemail system picked up his call. "Nothing; her phone is on but she didn't answer."

"Do you think she could be in trouble?"

"She left the academy before we did on foot but never made it here, so yes. I'd say that it's a good possibility that she is in trouble."

"You'll all be running off now to try and save her now, then?" Jean answered them with a huff, in on the secret but still feeling his annoyance over his handicap skyrocket up a notch.

"We're sorry man; we'd include you, but…" Marco trailed off, glancing at the cast; Jean just waved him off, poking at his cereal with the spoon in his other hand as he did so.

"Good. Do what you can to save her; the last thing we need is to lose another elite." He watched them hurry away from his seat at the table with a sigh. _This plan had better work._

It had taken almost three hours for the promised transport to arrive, and after finally getting to the city she was escorted to a room in a large and very empty seeming building where she was promptly left with nothing to do but pace worriedly and watch the rainy sunrise dawn behind the window. Were they just going to leave her in there forever? Was she being held as a captive? If so, how was she going to prevent herself from going crazy in this tiny and entirely unfurnished room let alone get close enough to her brother to carry out her job? Could she even do it? Eren had jumped ship, sure, but he was still her brother. She was angry with him, that much was undeniable, but she didn't hate him. Could she really bring herself to follow the order that they had left her with? Doubt wasn't something that she was prone to but in that moment it was devouring her alive; such was her internal struggle that she didn't heard the formerly locked door swing open until the wall of a man now blocking the doorway spoke.

"He really should have known better than to toss you into some unfinished corner like this." He rumbled, blue eyes scanning over her bleak surroundings and her now tensely frozen form. "Your arrival was fairly sudden and as such certain preparations had to be made which lead to having to leave you alone like this for longer than we would have liked and for that I apologize. My name is Erwin Smith; Rivaille has asked that I handle your…situation seeing as you and I are both half bloods and your stated reasoning for coming to us at all is that you're hoping to gain better control over your recently resurfaced nature. Is that true?"

"Take me to Eren; I want to see my brother!" She had no interest in this unfamiliar man; she'd have preferred it to be Rivaille who had come to get her, considering that then she could hit him with a sizeable piece of her mind on the matter at hand. She wanted her brother. Wanted to see him again regardless of what her future actions may turn out to be because he was her family and she missed him terribly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that." Erwin-her apparent warden-replied calmly. "Rivaille and I still lock horns quite often over most matter but we both agree that it's simply too dangerous to allow you near him until your control is more sound. I'm sure that you don't want to risk bringing any harm to him, do you?"

A low hiss escaped her before she could stop it, but she backed down. "No. I don't want that. Tell me the fastest way to learn control and let's be done with this!"

"Cooperate." That sort of half-assed answer was the last thing she wanted to hear and it was evidently clear in her hateful glare which her companion chose to ignore. "In order to better help you I'd need to know as much about you as I can so I'm going to ask a few questions. Is that ok?"

"I don't care."

"How long have you known that you're not completely human?"

"Not long. My bastard of a cousin hit me with that bombshell the last time he and I fought." She replied sourly. "Ever since then I've gone to shit!"

"How much of a lapse in control have you had thus far?"

"I haven't attacked anyone yet if that is what you're asking, but there have been a handful of times where I've gotten close for various reasons. The Order still doesn't know what I am, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"Understandable." He replied after a moment. "How much do you remember of your childhood?"

How much _did_ she remember? Walking to school with Eren and Armin at her side; Carla cooking in the kitchen as she helped her brother set the table; pestering Grisha yet again about what he was hiding in the basement. "A lot…but nothing about my own parents. I hit my head pretty hard during the attack; I don't remember anything that happened before waking up in the hospital. Eren had to tell me the details later on."

"Amnesia would explain the suppression of your nature; the shock to your system delivered by Rivaille was enough to wake it up again." As good an explanation as any. "When was the last time you've had anything to drink?"

"I had four bottles of water before I left, not that they did a damn bit of good!" Seeing the odd look that she received in return Mikasa immediately flushed a flustered red. "Oh…you meant…I've never touched a drop and I don't ever intend to!"

"I'm afraid that you won't have a choice. Where we, as half-bloods, do not have to drink as much or as often as a true Vampire would our systems still require blood to function. You may be pleased to hear, however, that unlike full Vampires the blood we drink doesn't have to be human."

"It's still disgusting."

Now he actually _laughed_ at her, much to her enormous chagrin. "I suppose that it would be for those who weren't brought up doing it, but then again you'd likely find some human foods eaten in other parts of the world to be disgusting as well. It's an acquired taste." When he smiled his blue eyes sparkled in a way that reminded her of Eren but that didn't make her trust him anymore and when he extended a hand towards her she flinched back. "You get used to it. You're already showing the first signs of advanced starvation. Those contacts only conceal so much."

"No. I'm not doing it. I refuse!"

"Mikasa," the way that Erwin said her name, with a tired sounding sigh at the end, made he feel like a small child who had done something wrong. "If you want to see Eren-and, believe me, he hopes that you do-you're going to have to do this; it's the first step towards controlling yourself and until you learn to do so we simply can't trust you around AB blood."

Eren. His bright green eyes; soft brown hair; infectious laugh. She'd never wished for anything more than she did for her brother's warm embrace in that moment. He'd forgive her, she knew that he would. And even if that forgiving nature would prove to be the death of him at the moment she couldn't bring herself to care. "Fine." Mikasa relented after a moment. "Let's get this over with."

Rivaille could only thank his lucky stars that the only one of the four children they were actively putting up in their house was Asher who, due to Eren's presence, was well behaved and that he was commonly out of said house-because Eren was out in the field training them-and thus he found himself left with a great deal of free time and quiet. All spent without Eren, who was busy with the kids. Needless to say he was going little bit stir crazy. Not to mention that now he had to worry about his cousin's presence too, and the fact that she knew full well why she was there despite what she said to the contrary. Yet again he found himself dropped into a situation where his enormously lacking previous experience had left him ill prepared to properly react, and so once again he found himself seeking her help. Of course doing so wasn't as easy as it had once been, what with the four of them scattered throughout the city rather than living under one roof. He'd tried to call her a series of times that day but apparently she wasn't within range of her cellphone as they had all gone unanswered, and so the raven found himself search for her or, at the very least, for someone who knew where she was. Pulling an umbrella out of the stand as he finished lacing up the as of yet unused black sneakers that the brunet had forced him to buy citing a desperate need for 'casual' clothing, he pulled open the door and stepped out onto the porch. The air outside was cool and damp, though no longer intolerably cold, and a persistent drizzle-left over from the rainy night before-still fell from the shifting smoke grey clouds that thus far had refused to budge their position curled up above their heads. Sighing, he opened the umbrella and set out down the road. It wasn't all that surprising that almost no one was out in the nasty weather and as such there was only a handful of eyes to give him odd looks as he skirted puddles as if his life depended on it and finally reached the building that he'd been looking for. Stepping under the Flügel's awning, Rivaille closed the umbrella and shook off the silvery droplets that had clung to the fabric before propping it against the wall and walking inside. Again unsurprisingly the top floor was dark, silent and deserted as he quickly crossed the floor to the door to the staircase; the lower floor was a much different story, as he'd expected with music playing and half of the Legion hold up from the rain.

"Woah! Shorty, is that really a t-shirt that you have on?" he heard the mad woman's shout just in time to dart out from beneath her pounce and watch her nearly stumble and fall. "No need to be like that; you never let me hug you!"

"That was not a hug, that was an attempt at murder! You'd have crushed me leaping around like that!"

"So if I hugged you normally you'd-?"

"Fuck off!"

"But when Eren hugs you, you don't care! You even seem to like it."

"Eren is different, dumbass! You aren't even in the same position as him so that argument is entirely invalid!" He snapped. For a scientist she was certainly irrational. "Have you seen Petra around here?"

"Oh, yes actually. She should be over there; that's where I last saw her at least." She pointed in the correct direction and the other wasted no time in walking off. "Ok, I guess we'll talk later than!" Not for quite a while if he had anything to say about it, of course, knowing Hanji, she'd manage to hunt him down eventually no matter what he tried. Catching sight of the familiar ginger hair he promptly dismissed all thoughts of the troublesome annoyance in favor of focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Petra."

"Oh, Rivaille. It's been a while since I've last seen you with how busy that everything is." She replied, immediately turning away from the conversation she'd been having to give him her full attention.

"Indeed it has been and for that I apologize, but business with Eyebrows has kept me running ragged." He sighed. "I would prefer that it not be so abrupt but I'm afraid that I have little choice with time being as short as it is in this. Please, accompany me upstairs. We need to talk." He lowered his gaze to the floor at their feet for a moment. "Or, rather, I need to seek your advice again."

"Of course, I'll do anything in my power to help you." She followed him up the narrow staircase and back out onto the deserted upper floor. "Now will you tell me what is wrong? Though notably you've gotten better about it since Eren has come into your life it still isn't the norm that you seek the help of others unless it is a matter of great importance."

"It is," he replied. "It concerns my cousin; I know what she is really here for-an informant most definitely and likely an assassin sent after Eren's life as well-despite her meretricious story about having abandoned the Hunters. But I allowed her in anyway because at least this way I can watch her and insure that I can be at the very least dilatory to her plans." Rivaille sighed. "I can tell from what I have seen of her that she is hesitant to fulfil her task, and as such I would prefer to leverage that fact on her. Use her hesitance and nature to fully sway her to our side, but…I don't know how."

"She's your family, isn't she?" Petra pointed out. "I know that you're not the best with words and feelings, but reach out to her. Remind her of the fact that the Ackerman name isn't entirely meaningless, that she still has family, that there are people who care about her. That you really do love her brother, who she obviously does care about, and that you're not just using him."

"Thank you, Petra. I'll do my best to follow your advice."

"Of course; good luck with matters."

_I really hope this works. Otherwise I may be forced to do something he won't forgive me for in order to protect what matters most. _Retrieving his umbrella from its hiding place beside the club's door Rivaille once again took to the streets and headed back towards home. Thoughts were clouding his head like a swarm of angered bees, dark already and progressively becoming darker as he proceeded up the gravel drive and laid the umbrella open on the porch to dry before continuing into the empty house with a sigh. He expected to be met with dim rooms and silent halls. Instead he found a light on in the kitchen and the smell of something cooking wafting through the air. Was there a burglary in progress? Not that he'd heard about any burglars lately who liked to cook food for their victims after they were finished robbing them. Quiet footsteps on the stairs drew his attention to the brunet leaning over the banister smiling at him; today Eren was dressed in a pair of loose faded blue jeans with a rip over one knee and a white tank top that clung to his chest like body armor underneath an oversized plaid button down shirt patterned in various shades of blue worn open over it. As always his hair was a permanently windblown wreck but appeared longer than usual, falling into those beautiful Caribbean orbs as they observed him happily in silence for a moment.

"You're back." He said, leaving the railing in favor of proceeding the rest of the way down the stairs to join his companion at the foot of the stairs. "When I got back and you weren't here I couldn't help but get a little worried about you."

"Nothing serious, brat. It's alright." He told him softly, relaxing into the other's touch as he was pulled into a familiar embrace, a soft sound of contentment slipping out in response. "What are you cooking up in there? It smells delicious."

"Well, I'm no master chef like Eld and Oluo are but I'm capable of more than boiling water, and I remember a few of my mother's tips and tricks. I stumbled on a little produce stand with fresh vegetables on the way home and so I figured I would try my hand at ratatouille."

His pale eyes widened slightly. "Ratatouille? What's the occasion?"

"No occasion." Eren replied as he headed back towards the kitchen, "but I wanted to do something special for you for a change instead of it being the other way around and Petra mentioned that this dish meant something to you."

"It is something that my mother would make often; when I was a child meat was scarce and difficult to come by even for the very rich." His grey eyes hazed over slightly as he looked towards the stove where a large pot simmered. "It's the first dish I ever had; my parents died not long after I reached the age where my body could process human food."

"Well, it should be ready in about 10 minutes; I'm not entirely sure that I made it right but we'll just have to see."

"I'll go and fetch a wine from the cellar. Any preference?"

"French and white, like you."

"Tch," he snorted, opening the basement door and starting down the steps. "So sorry that we all can't be a tall glass of golden German lager like someone that I know." A muffled snicker of 'you should be' could be heard just before the door swung shut. The basement of their house wasn't exactly furnished, but its persistent chill made it perfect for a wine cellar; with the brunet's help Rivaille had managed to set up all the shelves in about a day or so and though only a select few bottles roosted there he hoped to one day once more have a wine store's selection. Grabbing the first bottle that he found of the requested substance he hurried back up the stairs just in time to find the other setting the table. "Just two plates tonight? Where's the kid?"

"Out with the other three; I put him in charge of a basic exercise. They'll be out looking for the locket that I gave him for most of the night."

"So you hid it somewhere?"

"Yep," grinning widely, Eren produced the locket from his back pocket. "I hid it somewhere alright."

"You're evil."

"Hey, what our superiors did was _way_ worse! They had us all running around thinking we were under actual MP attack when the 'killer on the loose' we were looking for turned out to be a poorly rendered card board cut out of the Count from Sesame Street." Replacing the keepsake in his pocket, he flopped down into a chair and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Point is, in real world situations the objective of your mission _isn't _always going to be there; you get a wild goose chase more often than not. It's important for them to learn that much early; it separates the real leaders from the followers."

"An interesting way of going about it. it certainly involves far less bloodshed than the way that I was brought up."

"You mean doing whatever the hell you wanted until someone told you 'no' at which point your proceeded to gouge their eyes out of their skulls with your bare hands?" the other didn't answer, picking up his fork instead after pouring them both a glass of wine. "Be honest, does it taste like shit?"

For a while the raven regarded him with his cool grey gaze and then he spoke. "Eren, you need to have more confidence in your culinary abilities; for all of the fumbling you did around the kitchen-as evidenced by the gigantic mess of pots and vegetable peels you left behind-the end product turned out remarkably well. Especially considering that, by your own admission, on a normal day you can barely boil water." He turned red from embarrassment but considering they both knew it was true there wasn't much that could be done in way of arguing. "Even if it had turned out barely edible-and you know by now that I wouldn't have spared your feelings if it had-it's the effort that counts."

"Well, I'm glad that it wasn't a total waste of time; for a while there I was afraid that it would come out as mush and we'd have to order carry out, of course I did have a bit of help; I got those two to give me some tips on how to avoid overcooking vegetables." Setting down his fork, Eren smiled sheepishly. "I guess the rest of this evening I'll be spending cleaning up this mess."

"No, you're coming out with me first; we're going for a…walk in a nearby park."

Green eyes regarded him in confusion and concern, the slight hesitation in his words not going unnoticed. "But it's raining out, isn't it? So it's not exactly like we can sit up on some hill and watch the sunset."

"Just drizzling now, and although that is true I know the perfect spot and…if I'm going to be entirely honest with you if I don't do this now I'll never be able to." Was he blushing? "So, please; if you're that worried about getting wet then I'd advise you to bring a damn umbrella."

"Ok, ok. All you had to do was say 'it's important'." The brunet informed him. "We'll leave once we finish eating." Eren knew two things about Rivaille's eating habits-he didn't eat much and he ate it fast-but this had to be a new record for quickest time his plate was cleared; the shorter man was out of the kitchen and up the stairs before his partner could even begin to process what was going on. _Well, he's certainly excited about something._ Finishing up what remained of his own plate Eren quickly boxed up the left overs and put them in the fridge for later before heading up the stairs himself. After a few minutes of searching he found the other standing with his back to him in the study, staring at something contained within the depths of the top drawer of his desk which just the other day had been soundly locked. "Levi?" he probably jumped three feet in the air and slammed the drawer shut, whirling around to face him with grey eyes more guarded than he'd ever seen them.

"Christ, brat! Don't fucking sneak up on me like that!" He yowled, relaxing slightly from his tense stance. "Go and put your shoes on; I'll be down in a minute."

"If you're sure that you're alright."

"I'm fine!" It came out far more snappish than he'd meant it to but at least it got the younger male out of the room. Once sure that the brunet was gone, Rivaille slowly edged open the drawer again and sighed. _I've got to do this. What the hell am I so afraid of anyway? _Mentally berating himself for acting stupid a final time, the raven removed the small box from drawer and placed it into his pocket instead before rejoining the other at the door.

"Are you alright?" Eren asked him again, real concern etched plainly on his face as they both proceeded out the door with their umbrellas. "You seem upset."

"I'm fine."

"But-."

"_I'm. Fine._"

Silence fell between them then-the heavy uncomfortable silence that usually only exists between complete strangers-and persisted until they reached a small park. The raven lead his taller companion down an unpaved, slightly muddy trail to a tiny pond hidden within a copse of trees under the room of a tiny wooden pavilion. Though the banks were dark mud and overgrown with cat tails and the water was a murky green there was still a certain beauty to the place, even with the surface of the water disturbed by the constant fall of rain and the sky choked with storm clouds. Turning to his company he found that Eren had proceeded to the edge of the pavilion and was now leaning against the railing that overlooked the water, but instead of the delight that he had expected to see a look of distressed misery strained his features instead. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but the other spoke first and cut him off.

"What have I done wrong, recently?"

"Wrong?" this was certainly the _last _thing he'd expected. "What the hell do you mean what have you done that's 'wrong'?"

"You know exactly what I mean," his voice was quiet, wavering slightly as if on the verge of tears, his shoulders curling inwards as though he were trying to protect himself. "You've been distant, lately. Barely around these past few days. When you are around you're always focused on something else and will stay in that stupid study instead of going to bed. And all night you've been snapping at me. It feels like we've gone back to _that._" It took no elaboration for the raven to gather what he was alluding to by saying 'that', and the thought of it made his heart constrict as Eren choked on the rest of his words before turning with glassy puppy dog eyes which completely shattered him. "So please, just tell me what I did. So that I can fix it. Give me one more chance. Don't break up with me."

"Break up with you?" Rivialle repeated, dumbstruck; if the situation had been any less serious the ridiculousness of it all would have probably made him bust out laughing. "You think that I dragged you all the way out here to break up with you? You really are an idiot."

"W-What?" another pink flush heated his cheeks as a portion of his misery was displaced by angered indignance. "Now you're insulting me too?"

"Eren, listen to me, you need to calm down. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I hadn't realized that I had. For that I'm sorry. I just…I've had a lot on my mind recently and…I'm not exactly good at this sort of thing."

"You think that's an excuse?" the brunet snapped, turning his back on him. "The 'this' you're not good at is something we're supposed to do _together_!"

"Eren, look at me!"

"Why should I? I try! I try to be patient; to not push you for details on your past. To show you that you can trust me as much as I trust you _but all you ever do is push me away!_"

"Eren!" He darted forward, grabbing his wrist and yanking him around with enough strength to almost cause him to fall. Before he could recover from the shock and turn away again Rivaille dropped down onto one knee and offered him the box. "Alors veuillez m'octroyer l'honneur que je vous demande de ma chère, veux-tu m'épouser ? Marry me, brat."


	27. The Announcement

For a few seconds Eren just stood there staring at him with a look of such complete and total shock that it was almost comical, then he sniffled once, twice, and the dams broke; all of the pent up stress and worry came pouring out as tears that ran freely down his face as his knees gave out. Collapsing to the ground in from of him he threw his arms around the raven's broad shoulders and buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I'm so s-sorry for going off on you like that, I just thought…"

"I know, and you're right. I still need to work on letting others in, especially you, but that is a long running battle." He replied, wrapping his arms around the other's thin waist in a somewhat clumsy embrace in an effort to provide comfort. "Instead of dribbling snot all over my shirt how about you give me a straight yes or no answer. Though salt content in the soil is important, with all of the rains we've gotten recently I doubt the plants really need your contribution to the water table.

"Sorry," he said again, the word cracking a bit towards the end. "Yes, of course I'll marry you; were you really afraid that I would say something else?"

"Reasonably? No. But the fear is still there." He replied, drawing back enough to hand the little box over. "You have enough emotions for the both of us and then some, by God."

He finally got him to smile again; a watery smile, but a smile none the less. "I know. You're not the first one to say something similar but that's what you get when your emotions run high I suppose." Taking the box, he opened the lid after another moment to reveal the ring inside; slightly tarnished and clearly antique, the band was silver and carved with an intricate design of burning flames and set into the middle was a perfectly round polished moonstone. Rivialle held up a matching ring, this one gold and inset with a bluish piece of jade.

"They're beautiful," Eren told him, slipping his onto his finger; it was just slightly too big. "They look old."

"They are; forged in the year 845. These are the Ackerman family rings, two out of three."

"One for each brother."

He nodded. "The silver one was my father's. The golden one originally belonged to Alias." Grey eyes scanned the ring, taking in the close to 4 centimeters of space between the band and his finger. "We'll need to get that sized before tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

"March 30th; your 18th birthday, is it not?"

"Yes. Is there a party or something?"

"With Shitty Glasses around, did you expect to make it through the day without one?"

"Good point," he said, pulling himself back to his feet. "I'll get a call once the four of them give up and come back; let's head over to that jeweler's over on the corner to see if they can fix it for us before tomorrow."

"Forget the jewelers, we'll just make an appeal to Shitty Glasses to shrink it by magic; we'll have to deal with her reaction to the news anyway so we may as well have it contained. It might be less explosive that way."

"We can hope," the brunet laughed, "but odds are that it's going to be just as explosive anyway considering that it is Hanji after all."

The walk passed quickly, all of the tension that had formerly been between the two gone and the drizzle slowing down. Their knock was answered almost instantly by the excitable woman, looking just as happily-frazzled as ever.

"Eren! Shorty! What brings the two of you here at this hour?"

"We'll tell you in a minute; let us in before you flip your shit." The raven grumbled, surly as usual as he pushed his way passed her and into the house where she had taken up residence with a fairly apologetic Eren on his heels. "A cup of tea would be nice too."

"I see that your manners, Rivaille, are as poor as ever."

"Eyebrows." Tension fizzled like lightning in the air as he stared down the self-proclaimed Chemist's other visitor, both men sizing each other up. "What the shitting hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be watching my cousin, making sure that she is keeping her nose where it belongs and out of the Legion's confidential business!"

"As far as I am aware-considering that all three of us are standing here talking in Hanji's cramped kitchen-no such 'confidential business' is taking place at the moment for her to get into. Besides, I have to give her a break from constant watch at some point as getting her to cooperate is hard enough as it is."

"The brat was like that too at first. Leave her to her own devices in that room long enough and-."

"You're forgetting that we want her willing cooperation, not have her develop Stockholme's syndrome."

"Same difference, isn't it? Look at Eren."

"He's joking!" Eren cut in quickly when the other's blue eyes narrowed into a disbelieving glare; as the raven made no protest to this statement and even snickered quietly he could only assume that that was indeed the case. "Sometimes he has a fairly poor taste in humor, as I'm sure by now we're both aware."

Erwin sighed. "At least it wasn't another shit joke; for someone with OCD towards constant cleanliness his fascination with excrement is rather odd."

"Everybody's got to have a hobby though," Hanji piped up, walking over to hand the raven the cup of tea which he snatched without comment. "So, what brings you two here?"

"Eren's tiny ass fingers; the ring doesn't fit." The tea cup in the blonde's hand fell and shattered on the ground as his grip went slack; approximately three seconds later the Hanji bomb went off and the pair were being bombarded with questions spoken so fast that they spilled out in a mass of unintelligible letters as she started running around the kitchen like the mad woman they all knew she was, ultimately slipping in the tea that the still shocked Erwin had spilled and ending up lying on the floor.

"WAAH! Shorty, you've got to tell me all about it! I want to know _details!_"

_She's not even going to get off of the floor?_ Eren wondered as Rivaille continued to calmly sip his tea as if nothing were amiss.

"I took him for a walk in the park near our house, nothing fancy. Proposed after a…small misunderstanding; he started bawling, attempted to strangle me to death with a bear hug and then said yes, at which point we discovered the God damn ring doesn't fit; it's older than I am and wasn't exactly costume sized. Neither of us are stupid and as such we are both well aware that you are planning some sort of insanity relating to the brat's 18th birthday tomorrow and if we take it to a jeweler than it won't be ready in time. Would there happen to be anything that you can do?"

"Shrink a ring? Give me 10 minutes; come upstairs darling and fix that sizing right up for you." The brunet looked somewhat nervous of the thought of being left alone with the hyper active scientist but followed her up the stairs anyway, leaving Rivaille and Erwin alone in the kitchen.

"You look like you just witness some sort of horrible accident."

"Allow me to apologize to you Rivaille."

The shorter man blinked once in surprise before raising an eyebrow. "Pardonezz-moi? That is to say, 'excuse me'?"

"I have thought wrong of you. Judged you as false, and labeled your intentions as ill, simply because you are a Pure Blood. You told me that you are different than the others and now I believe you; no Pure Blood would be able to swallow their pride to the degree that marriage to a Human would require unless they truly did love them. I'm sorry."

"…what the living fuck was in that tea? You're talking crazy!"

"It seems like it, doesn't it?" Unfurling himself from the chair in which he had been sitting Erwin extended one hand towards him. "Peace?"

"I don't recall that we were ever actually fighting, outside of chess." But he took the offered hand anyway before raising his cup. "To a united Legion."

"If I were you," the blonde snickered, "I'd save that toast for your wedding night."

"Only if you save that speech."

"I'll see what I can do."

"What's this? We leave the two of you alone down here without a chess board to be seen on which for you to take out your mutual frustrations and come back to find nothing broken and the pair of you….well, Erwin at least, smiling like idiots?" Failing rather miserably at keeping a straight face as he leaned his weight against the doorframe Eren added "did I miss something?"

"Welcome back, brat." Rivaille replied, motioning him over. "Well, let's see it then; surely it looks better when it actually fits."

Eren eagerly bounded forward to show off the ring. "I love it! Not as much as I love you of course, but it's a great ring!" If it were even possible, the grin on his face grew bigger. "I wonder what the others are going to say, especially my sister."

"Speaking of whom," Rivaille again turned his eyes to Erwin. "I'll need to know a solid answer; even if she has a control that is only tenuous at best surely with everyone around at the party it will be safe enough to allow them to see each other."

A moment passed before he slowly nodded. "Your cousin is most decidedly difficult and headstrong at times-you _are_ related, after all-but when she does decide to cooperate with me she is a quick study. Her control is more than just tenuous, and it would be much longer before she is experienced enough to be allowed to see her brother unsupervised."

"Perhaps if all we're considering when you say that is her control."

This made Eren glance at him in concern. "What are you trying to say, Levi? She's my sister."

"And a former Hunter."

"So am I!"

"They sent you in undercover as well, didn't they?" when no immediate rebuttal came, Rivaille nodded. "Now you're thinking like you should have been from the moment that you received that phone call; you allowed the fact that she is your sister to blind you to the danger to you that her presence here presents."

"You think that she's a spy?" a nod in answer. "What should I do, then? I can't just shut her out completely."

"I'm not asking you to, but I also want to keep you safe; I can imagine why she is here and why she keep asking for you, but I do not yet know for sure." Crossing the kitchen to the sink, he set the empty cup inside and turned on the water to wash it out. "I'm not saying don't trust her at all, but I am warning you not to trust her _completely_. Treat this as you would if any of the other members of your former regiment were to show up claiming to have converted; no matter what happens, never allow yourself to be alone with her until this matter is entirely resolved. And if you have to drag Graham around as your body guard while he's not in training to avoid it, do so. I'll have Petra and the others keeping an eye on her as well until we're absolutely certain that she is not an assassin."

"And then?"

"You may trust her as much as you deem appropriate."

The phone rang in Eren's pocket just then, putting an end to their time at Hanji's. "Hello? Yes, we'll be right over."

"So they're back, then?" the brunet nodded. "We'll see the two of you tomorrow, I suppose."

"Yes you will; I'll call you about the time sometime later tonight." Hanji promised. "Eren sweetheart, if you try and hide from your own party I'll hunt you down with a flaming torch and drag you there." Something about the pleasant tone in which she said it was absurdly threatening.

"I have absolutely no doubt that you will," he told her as the pair left the house, holding their umbrellas at their sides now that the rain had finally stopped. The brunet was thankfully back to his normal happy self, recovered from his earlier bout of emotion and humming off tune under his breath hand in hand with Rivaille, who stood amused. Depositing their load on the porch, they opened the door of their home and stepped inside. The four sat slumped across the kitchen table, dejected and still in their gear, looking miserable and soaking wet. The raven tutted as he glanced down at the little puddles tracked across the floor.

"I'll go and get some towels." With that he vanished up the stairs, leaving Eren to deal with the four.

"I take it that things didn't go well?" he prodded delicately, effectively splitting open the hornet's nest.

"We failed!" Asher yowled at him, golden eyes flashing. "We've trained for years at one of the best Hunter academies around _and _trained under you and we still weren't good enough to find the locket!" he turned away, looking ashamed. "I lost it. I'm sorry."

A soft hissing of metal on metal as the thin chain slid over itself when the locket was drawn from his pocket. "No, you didn't." It swung slowly back and forth from his loose hold as if taken by a soft breeze, the rubies flashing in the light cast by the lamp that hung from the ceiling. "I never hid it; I sent you on a wild goose chase to show you all that just because you have a goal, a mark and an objective it doesn't mean that you'll achieve it. Perhaps it is one of the least dangerous lessons I have to teach you, but it is also one of the most important. Try to keep its teachings in mind; effort isn't almost enough, no matter how good you are." He handed it back to its now rightful owner. "I apologize for the deception, but it was necessary. You all did well."

Rivaille returned to the kitchen with his arms full of towels, four of which were dropped around wet and shivering shoulders and the fifth than used to mop up the floor. From there he moved to pull down four plates and reheat some of the left overs from dinner; once these were ready, he set them out on the table in front of the four. "Well brat, let's get to cleaning all of this up before these four shits make an even bigger mess."

"Coming," he left the table and crossed the room to join the other at the sink, filled with a mountain of dirtied pots and pans. "Wow, looking back at it now the mess is even bigger than I thought it was."

"Yes, well, messes tend to multiply." He agreed, pulling on a pair of rubber cleaning gloves. "That's why you have to get them early."

"Should I take the ring off for this?"

"We're using water and Dawn Ultra, not Clorox bleach; it fits now, so the ring will be fine." Rivaille turned the knob to hot and picked up the first of the dirty dishes. "Are you going to grab a pair of gloves or not?"

"Why, it's just water."

"Hot water. Besides, I'd rather not get wet."

"You melt in water?" he looked at him with wide eyes so overtly innocent that they screamed warnings of coming snark. "But you always seem fine whenever we shower together."

"There are children present, brat."

"I'm sure they've heard it all before."

"We have indeed, and I'd rather _not_ hear it again tonight brother." Asher stated as he set his fork down on his now clean plate.

The raven laughed quietly. "By God, he couldn't be more like the two of us if he was actually our kid." A speechless Eren simply turned bright pink in response. "Oi, when the lot of you are finished put your dishes in the sink." A chorus of 'yes sir's met his demand. "There's more in the fridge if you want seconds, just don't make a mess. Jӓger! You can't wash dishes for shit, go and clean up the vegetable peels scraps that are scattered all over the counters." Eren rolled his eyes but went to go do as he was told as the four at the table finished their meal and filed over to place their plates in the sink. Once finished with that Athena made her way over to him.

"Here, let me help you." Picking up the cutting board she carried it over to the sink and set it in along with the rest of the pile of dirtied dishes. "Asher, as the only one of us who actually lives here with them you should be helping too!"

Grumbling he lead the other two over to lend a hand to Rivaille at the sink, prompting a quiet and almost undetectable laugh from the raven. "Well would you look at that, Graham may well be the leader of your little band of merry men, but Athena here has got them whipped a circus lions. But don't we have some news to give to them?"

"We do, but I think we should wait until tomorrow to tell them; we already told Hanji and Erwin and if we tell too many people it won't be a surprise anymore."

"Now that she knows, if it's a surprise to _anyone_ come tomorrow I'd be shocked."

"Well, you have a good point there but we can at least hold out hope that they'll act like they are."

"How the hell are you still possessed of such a ridiculous amount of faith in the world?" he asked him with a sigh, finishing up the dishes and setting the last pot out to dry before removing his rubbing cleaning gloves. "After everything the two of us have been through together I know full well that it's not because of innocence."

"I choose to look at the light of the world instead of the darkness, and believe that the scars sustained in the past are what shape who we are. They're chance to learn and grow. And I am grateful for all of them, especially the ones that you gave me be them in good times or in bad."

Eyes flickering over to find their company had seized their chance to bolt he shook his head before reaching out and pulling the other closer by his waist. "I am grateful for every moment that I spend with you, for every heart beat and every breath but I think I've told you this before. Allow me to apologize again for my behavior over the past few days; I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea."

"It was my fault; I let all of these stupid hormones get the better of me again. I really should have had more faith in you. I'm sorry, too." Eren replied as he wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders.

"I think we can easily agree to the fact that we are both at fault." The brunet nodded somewhat reluctantly after a moment. "All the same, it would appear that the Legion has settled into a state of domestic tranquility, at least for the moment. What do you say that we spend some much needed time together; you were right in saying that it's been far too long."

Eren pondered this for a moment before wrinkling his nose adorably. "I'd love to, but our underage company is just upstairs and I would hate to be responsible for poisoning their minds any further."

"Is sex really all you think I think about? That would be quite the shallow relationship." He retorted staunchly. "We do have Netflix here, I believe. Go and choose whichever movie you feel like watching while I make hot chocolate."

Eren grinned at him happily before heading off into the den to search for the remote, finally digging it out from between the cushions after a few minutes and switching on the TV. It took five minutes to heat up the milk and stir in the cocoa mix and by the time he followed the other into the den with a bag of mini marshmellows under his arm he was confronted with a title that horrified him.

"Of all the cliché garbage on there to choose from you had to go and pick the _Titanic?_" he demanded, setting the two steaming mugs down on the coffee table and tossing the marshmellows into his lap. "Is this your subtle way of punishing me or something?"

"I like this movie!" The brunet defended as Rivaille lifted up his feet to clear a place for himself to sit down.

"This movie is the reason why I am a cynical bastard."

"And why is that the movies fault?"

"Because little Ms. Rose goes from 'oh Jack, I love you! I'll never let go!' to 'sink or swim mother fucker; find your own floating piece of shit!'."

Eren laughed at him, cupping his warm mug in both hands. "We could watch _Inception_ instead, or maybe the remake of the _Great Gatsby_ so I can finally figure out what you meant when you asked me why I didn't just say 'you were a Gatsby'."

"Are you cheating on me with Leonardo Dicaprio or something?"

"We've been over this," he replied calmly, "I'm not into blondes."

"Thank God for that; I'd hate to see Eyebrows steal you away from me at the altar." The raven snickered, reaching out to swipe his finger along the other's upper lip to clear away the chocolate residue. "Nice milk mustache."

"Thank you, I try." Eren took another drink and gave himself another one, to which Rivaille just sighed and shook his head. "Are we going to start the movie or just sit here staring at the menu screen?"

"Patience brat. We have to wait for the bats in our belfry to smell the chocolate and come looking for its source." As if on cue Asher stuck his head into the den.

"I smell chocolate. Did someone make desert?"

"Hot chocolate; it's on the stove. More marshmellows are in the larder, provided the brat didn't eat those already." Rivaille informed him. "Turn the stove off and put the dishes away once it's gone, but warn your little friends that unless they want to be sucked into watching a total cliché pitfall of a movie they had better stay out of here because we're about to set sail into _Titanic _hell."

"Can we put on _Saw_ upstairs?"

"The four of you can call Freddy and Jason over for pizza for all either of us care as long as you're not loud and don't make a mess; have fun." He took the remote from Eren as Asher made himself scarce and maneuvered the menu options to 'play feature'. "Let's get this over with."

"If you're that opposed I can watch this down here and you can go watch Jigsaw force his kidnap victims to kill each other through various methods of psychological torture; might put you back in touch with old times."

"That snark is uncalled for, brat." He replied with a small smirk. "Old times are overrated." The movie was started and the remote banished to the coffee table after the proper volume alterations were made. A few minutes passed of Rose and her family hurrying through the streets of South Ampton to catch the enormous passenger liner before it set sail before Eren spoke again.

"What's with the look of nostalgia, Mr. Cynic? Remembering old times after all?"

"Actually yes, in a way." He admitted reluctantly after a moment or two. "I may very well despise this movie but I have to give credit where credit is due; they did a damn good job on the sets. That looks almost exactly like the real thing."

Eren focused his full attention on him in a wide eyed gaze. "You mean to tell me that you were actually on the real Titanic?"

He nodded. "First class cabins heading back to New York from London. The orchestra really did play while it sank, the captain did go down with the ship and the bloody thing did indeed split in half. But do you know why that ice berg tore the holy living shit out of the ship's hull? Because some unsinkable dumbass thought it would be a good idea to cut corners on the rivets! And the only reason the number of people died that did is because White Star Liners-the shipping company that the _Titanic _belonged to-thought that the number of life boats suggested by the ship's builder took up too much space. Not to mention that half of them were deployed half-full or empty."

"Is it true that they made the men stay on the ship while women and children got on the life boats first?" he nodded. "Did you get on a life boat?"

"No."

"Then how did you get off?"

"Eren, when breathing is an option instead of a necessity and hypothermia runs away from you screaming bloody fucking murder swimming a couple hundred miles in the sub-zero deep ass water of the North Atlantic isn't much of an issue."

"So you swam all the way back to New York?"

"And then walked home to make myself a cup of tea and change out of my ruined suit."

"Because I needed you to prove you were a total badass."

"Just watch the movie, brat." A few more minutes passed in silence as the pair returned to watching the movie. "You remember a while back when your promised to allow me to enroll you in dance lessons?"

"…Yes?" he answered warily. "Why?"

"Because I'm taking you up on that; there's a studio not far from here that teaches classical dance."

"Uh, no offense or anything but don't you think I'm a little old to be a ballerina?"

"Waltz, Eren, not ballet. You need to at least know the basics of classical dance for the wedding; it's not going to be a total grind fest if that's what you thought."

"Right, I almost forgot about the whole 'dancing' thing; I've never actually been to a wedding." He admitted somewhat sheepishly. "There's cake too, right?"

"Cake of the wedding variety; three tiered and white, unless you'd prefer something else?"

"White cake is perfectly fine; cake is cake to me."

"Sometimes how easy you are to please makes me paranoid."

"Most people like to have low maintenance partners." He replied, sticking his tongue out at him. "You should really know better by now that to think that I'm just telling you what you want to hear."

"I suppose that's true."

"So," Eren piped up cavalierly. "Which one of us is going to wear the dress, me or you?"

Rivaille, who had been in the process of taking a sip of his drink, spat the scalding liquid back into his cup in surprise. "N-Neither!" He spluttered as Eren roared with laughter. "We will have to go in to get a pair of Armani suits fitted though."

"Armani?"

"You should be used to me throwing hundred dollar bills around like rice soon will be by now." Came the flippantly off-handed response. "And I need to start planning our honeymoon; all in all, it should all be ready by late April of early May. Unless you'd prefer to put the date back?"

"Even if we had the time available to us to push it back I wouldn't want to." Replacing his now empty mug on the table, Eren rolled up onto all fours and crawled onto the raven's lap, resting his head against his chest, "The sooner that I can be entirely, inarguable and _legally _yours the better."

"I agree," he told him as he kissed the top of his head. "Are you going to go to sleep now, aimee?"

A muffled "yes" answered.

"Well then, good night brat." He sat through the remaining 40 minutes of the movie before switching off the TV and carrying the gangly brunet up the stairs to the master bedroom. After tucking him in to sleep comfortably, Rivaille made his way across the hall to the guest bedroom-currently occupied by Asher-to find just what he had suspected; the four of the curled up asleep on the bed with the movie still playing. _How they could possibly have fallen asleep to this garbage I'll never know._ Switching off the TV and pulling more blankets out of the hallway closet he draped them over their small forms before flipping out the lights with a tiny sigh. To think that in just over a year he'd gone from isolated and miserable to the patriarch of a somewhat dysfunctional family. Though it had been hard thus far and in the future would only get harder still, he realized now that he wouldn't have it any other way.


	28. Hold Your Color

Translations -

1 - I think it's fair to say that there's a lot you don't know about me.

2 - touche

On the day that she had gone missing the members of the 104th had spent hours searching through the city, but after discovering no traces of any clues that could lead to her location and had come to the only inevitable conclusion available to them; abduction. After days of planning they had finally deemed themselves prepared enough to set out on another run into enemy territory, and had set out for Maria; they'd been driving all day in grim silence and were only now pulling into a gravel paved lot just outside of the city with only about an hour left to spare before sunset.

"For all that we know they've kidnapped Mikasa. Even though there were no viewable signs of a struggle her cellphone was pinging off of a tower in this area before it died." Armin explained quickly as they all scrambled to grab their gear and other necessary equipment.

"We've been in to Maria before so we mostly know the city's lay out, however we do not know what sort of alterations the Legion might have made and it's more than likely that we'll run headlong into some manner of defenses." Annie noted as she checked the sharpness of her blades. "The sun is going down; we'll have to do this as individuals in order to avoid detection and cover more ground. Keep in contact and try to avoid conflict at all costs; even if Rivaille is injured he is still a formidable opponent and it's unlikely that he is alone."

"We've all checked our equipment, right? 3DM gear? Weapons? Radios?"

"Yep: good to go!"

"Let's not waste any more time; the sun has almost set and we're losing daylight fast." Krista pointed out.

"She's right; we'll be much more vulnerable in the dark when we can't see what we're walking into." Ymir said. "Let's get going."

The group left their vehicles behind in the lot and set off down the road towards the city; they split up once within sight of the city's street lamps, dispersing in different directions over roof tops and down side streets. Sasha quickly found herself alone and headed towards the North side of the city; catching sight of a small Legion symbol painted carefully onto the mailbox out front of a house, she dropped down inside the fence penning in the backyard and hid in one of the enormous flower bushes beside one of the back windows peering out over the ridiculously verdant gardens encompassing the entire yard. A soft yellow light emanated from the other side of the panes of glass, illuminating the scene inside; a large, very clean sitting room hung with streamers, a banner hanging over a doorway into the kitchen proclaiming the slogan HAPPY 18TH EREN and a large table set up with a spread of food and various drinks. From the number of people inside it was clear that a party was going on, and with all of the other distractions it wasn't likely that anyone would notice if a window were to suddenly open, let alone that some of the food had disappeared. Emerging from the leafy protection of the bush, she carefully checked her surroundings before climbing up onto the porch and edging towards the window. It clearly wasn't locked but the glass was stubborn and refused to budge more than a few inches before the sound of the back door swinging open sent her diving back into the greenery to avoid being seen. A swell of music and voices from inside swept out across the well-manicured lawn as two figures emerged from the house to stand on the porch inside, the shorter of the two shutting the door in their wake.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Mikasa demanded of her company, examining him hawkishly through narrowed eyes; she seemed nervous, and this fact didn't escape the other.

"There really isn't any reason for you to be raising your hackles at me, Gamine." Rivalle drawled coolly. "Your brother wants to see you and from what I've heard over the past few days you want to see him too, yet you've avoided him like the plague since you've gotten here. Why?"

"Stop stalling!"

"I'm not." The counter was immediate and sharp. "You do not want to play that game with me; I am, after all, a politician formerly of the political theater that is the most dangerous to ever exist in the world. I am no longer M.P but that really changes little. Now, answer my question."

"Maybe I don't care to!"

"Erwin has done nothing but praise your control, and with all of us here it would be safe for you to see him even if he started to spontaneously start hemorrhaging blood onto the floor. So why? Why after all the demands to be allowed time with your brother are you refusing the chance."

"Leave me alone! I didn't bother to be interrogated by you."

Rivaille sighed and leaned his weight against the banister of the porch. "So very stubborn, though I suppose that I ought to have expected quite a bit of head-butting and no straight answers. You are my cousin, after all. Which brings us full circle to the matter that I'd really hoped to speak with you about."

"You hunted me down in the crowd and dragged me all the way out here to talk about _that_?" she snapped furiously at him, eyes flashing a russet color. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't come out here for a family reunion!"

To this he snorted. "I may have been the one raised by our Uncle, but right about now the one who sounds the most like him is you."

"_I'm going back inside!"_

"What I have to say is fairly important and now is the only time that I will ever say it to you; if you want to even begin to discover who you really are you'll hear me out."

She hesitated for a moment with her hand on the doorknob before slowly turning back towards him. "Fine!" Mikasa hissed. "Talk!"

"Walk with me." He left the porch and set off down one of the grassy paths between the flowers cut through the garden without waiting for a response; grating her teeth and glaring daggers at his back a moment further, the ravenette reluctantly followed after forcing their watcher to crawl after them through the vines and branches to avoid missing a word of what was said. "What do you think of the garden; your brother loves it. These roses were here when we bought the old place, but the rest of it wasn't here until…about three hours ago. I'm still not sure if that's at the fault of magic, one of Hanji's fucked up fertilizers or some combination of the two." Stopping in front of a particularly large bush, he gestured to the countless dark pink flowers. "Middlemist Red; now the rarest flower in the world. I remember when these were plentiful, but now, sadly, there are only a few left and most of them were cultivated in labs. A real shame, especially considering they're my favorite flower. What about you?"

"I followed you out here because you told me that it was a matter of personal importance to a past that I don't remember, not to learn about botany!" She snapped. "I will not stand to be baited; either get to the point or stop pestering me!"

Another sigh, this one more resigned than annoyed, escaped him. "Very well, I suppose that I have delayed for long enough." In the rapidly falling twilight his eyes appeared almost blue, rimmed in long dark lashes which cast small frail shadows across his face youthful after all the years he'd seen pass by; almost abnormally so, even for what he was. "Good deeds done in the present do not erase the sins of the past; no matter how much I may regret the acts of my hands I cannot go back in time to change them. I cannot undo them. My soul is just as black as our Uncle's is, drenched in all of the innocent blood that I thought nothing of shedding back when I still walked shrouded in the shadows. And for that I am truly sorry; I owed your father far more than I repaid him."

"What are you trying to say to me, Rivaille."

"My father Garad was the leader of the Military Police before our Uncle came to power; sometimes I wonder if he somehow sent those Hunters that massacred my family. He certainly showed me enough disdain." He shook his head. "Growing up, your father was the only one who ever showed me any sort of compassion at all but it wasn't enough. He didn't realize how deep the taint of Kenny's cruelty went; when he needed help most he turned to me and confessed his darkest secret: you. Reiss may have been the one who sent your family's death, on our Uncle's order, but I am the one who turned them in. It is my fault that you are an orphan and that fact is something that I will regret for the rest of my life." Rivaille looked away, turning his back on her completely out of shame. "Just one more reason to hate me, I suppose. Not that it affects me all that much; my heart may no longer be ice but it is still hard. Harder than most."

"What good would come of hating you, Rivaille? Hatred is what killed both my parents and Eren's." Mikasa's voice was dead, devoid of even the slightest flicker of emotion despite her words. "I don't hate you, not for that. But that doesn't mean that I will ever forgive you. However, like you said, we're family; all I have left of blood relations-all that is left of our entire clan-is you, me, and the psychopath currently ruling the Military Police."

"Tolerate each other's presence, attempt to rip each other's throats out every possible chance we get, 'I'm related to you because I don't have any other choice' tongue in cheek sort of cousins? Is that what we are?"

She nodded. "Sounds about right."

The raven male emitted a somewhat bitter laugh. "I suppose that it's as good as I'll get from you for the moment; regardless of the-excuse my unintended pun-bad blood between us I won't fail you again. Regardless of rather you attribute my caring about you as a transitive side effect of my relationship with Eren or as due to our own blood ties I will not allow harm to come to you. You can trust me."

"I trust you just as much as I trust any other snake in the garden." That said she turned again to go inside, but he caught hold of her wrist with enough force to keep her there.

"Not yet, Gamine."

"What else could you possibly want?" she demanded, rounding on him.

"It concerns your cooperation with the Legion; I know what you have been made to believe of us but I assure you that our intentions truly are to better the world for _both_ Humanity and Vampires. If there is something that you don't like about our morals or our methods, rather than digging your heels into the ground and clawing at doorways come with us willingly and change it."

The back door swung open for a second time and Eren stepped out onto the porch, a pointed party hat perched atop his head like some manner of strange bird and a paper plate of cake in one hand. Taking a moment to look around, he caught sight of them and hurried over.

"Mikasa, I've been looking for you all night; I could swear that you were avoiding me." He admonished, pouting slightly before turning to Rivaille without giving her a chance to answer. "You two should come back inside for cake and ice cream; you already missed me blowing out the candles."

Rivaille's cold expression softened as his gaze went to Eren. "Sorry, brat. Poor timing, I suppose, for an important conversation."

"Don't worry, Hanji was excited enough for the two of you and six other people combined." He replied as the raven allowed himself to be pulled back inside by the brunet with Mikasa reluctantly following on their heels; all thoughts of stealing food forgotten Sasha seized her chance to escape and vaulted over the fence before running into a nearby alleyway. Once reaching what she judged to be a safe enough distance from the house she fiddled with the radio until the correct channels were open and pressed the talk button with shaking hands.

"I found Mikasa; she hasn't been kidnapped." She squeaked. "She's betrayed us."

The party had gone on for what seemed like forever, stretching late into the night, and by the time she returned to the little apartment that she'd been given-more than enough space for one person and smack dab in the middle of the city where everyone and their dog could keep an eye on her-and immediately collapsed onto the bed without bothering to change. For a while she lay there on top of the covers with her arms dangling over the sides, listening to the quiet wind rattling the glass panes of the windows that surrounded her. What was she doing there? That had become a question which she asked herself more and more frequently now, especially with Rivaille's words fresh in her mind. That she had family left; not just her adopted brother but a blood relative. He'd promised to protect her, but did she really believe what he was saying? She couldn't trust him, of that much she had to keep reminding herself. Trusting him would only lead to bad things, right? Betrayal never happened just once, and lightning certainly did strike twice. '_We want to make this world a better place.'_ He'd said. '_Rather than resisting, come with us; if there's something that you don't like, take the steps to change it.'_ Despite everything that had happened, everything she knew to be true, part of her still wanted to follow his advice. To truly cast off the Hunters, join the Legion and see where it took her. The Wings of Freedom had already done more for her than the Rose ever could by accepting what she truly was unconditionally._ I can't take the easy way out; that is what evil does and I will __**not **__be made into a villain! I will not be like Rivaille or Kenny; I refuse!_ Then a small but insistent voice slithered up onto her pillow like a venomous snake and whispered in her ear "blood is blood, isn't it? It's your nature; just give in."

The shrill ringing of her cellphone-which she had remembered to put on its charger before going to the party after it had died-startled her out of her thoughts; sitting up with heart racing, she scrambled over across the bed to grab it.

"Jean, you scared me half to death!"

"Sorry? Can't give much advanced warning for a phone call." He replied. "Listen, the others fell for it hook line and sinker; problem is that they went looking for you."

"Are they still in the city?" God only knew what manner of trouble they'd get in if they were.

"No, they got out a few hours ago."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Sasha says that she overheard you speaking to Rivaille out in the gardens of the house where he's living with Eren." He replied. "That some strange things were said between the two of you, though she was so freaked that most of it got jumbled up. Would you care to clarify why he referred to you as family?"

She had to explain this away, and fast. Luckily for her some of the news shared at the party had provided her with the perfect explanation. "Because, unfortunately, according to law we will be family soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Eren will be a blushing bride by the end of April."

Dead silence on the other end of the line as Jean struggled to process this information. "You're joking!"

"I wish I was. He proposed last night; the ceremony is set for the 23rd and all of the planning starts tomorrow; suits, cake, dance lessons, everything! And that makes it pretty much impossible for me to carry out any sort of assassination for quite some time. Not to mention that, for the moment, matrimony seems to be as far as the Legion's plans extend. For the time being I think it best to turn our attention to the Military Police."

"I'll pass that news on to the Commander. You'll keep an eye out in case anything changes?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" she replied glumly.

"Yes, you are. Good night."

"Good night."

He hung up the phone, replacing it on its cradle before limping down the city block back towards the barracks having gotten fed up with crutches long ago and tossing them away the moment he was able. Making it back to the barracks after five minutes of hobbling down the street, he passed quickly through the halls thankfully avoiding running into any of the others-likely due to the late hour-and made it to the office of their superior without incident. A knock on the door saw him inside, the Commander sitting behind his desk as usual fixing him in a firm and disconcerting gaze.

"You have a report, then?"

"I called in and she picked up the phone; it turns out that Sasha misheard the conversation in the garden. He referred to her as family because of his recent engagement to her brother." He explained. "It seems that the Legion is content to leave us be for the moment in order to focus on more domestic things; she'll keep a close eye out for any changes and get into contact immediately, but for now it would probably be best to focus our efforts on the Military Police."

"Perhaps she's right; for now that may well be for the best. Keep in contact with her on a regular basis if for nothing else than to prevent the same poison that so warped her brother's mind from reaching her. When next you speak be sure to remind her that she is to get out the moment that her job is through; all of the time and effort taken to frame the Turned for his death will be wasted if she is caught in the act."

A far from restful sleep was interrupted by Petra, Isabelle and Hanji who came barging into her apartment at around 8 in the morning in order to kidnap he and drag her to the high end boutique on the west side of the city.

"Isn't the news about the wedding great?" Isabelle gushed happily as the other two threw their ravenette companion into the back seat of the bespectacled mad woman's car. "I haven't been to one since Carmine's!"

"Oh, I remember that one!" The ginger said. "That was in 1902, wasn't it? Rivaille didn't tolerate the socializing all that well; Farlan had to all but tie him to a chair to stop him from running off."

"Hopefully Shorty won't try to bail on us this time, especially considering everything he went through to work up the courage to propose. We wouldn't want poor Eren to be left at the altar." Hanji piped up as she turned the key in the ignition, firing up the engine of the old clunker that she drove. "You all heard about the idea that the poor dear got into his head, didn't you? He thought Rivaille was breaking up with him."

"The world will end and Hell will freeze solid before that happens." Petra said with a laugh. "Having known him for as long as I have, I almost find it hard to believe that he's the same person since they've met; their relationship is just unreal."

"Well, when you find your soulmate the rest of the world falls away." Isabelle stated matter of factly, brushing a strand of her short scarlet hair back behind her ear as it made a desperate bid to escape from the grasp of one of her pigtails. "I'm happy for them both; they deserve this. You know it's really love when all that you need to be happy is each other."

"Watching them together is sweet, especially knowing how angry Shorty always is around everyone else. When Eren is around it's like all of the fight goes out of him."

"Mikasa," she drew back slightly in surprise when the red head leaned towards her across Petra's lap. "Has Eren talked to you yet?"

"I spoke to him last night at the party." She replied.

"But has he spoken to you about _it_ yet?"

"What is 'it'?"

"He wanted to know if you'd be a bride's-maid for him. I mean, we're all going to be bride's-maids but you'd be the alpha bride's-made; you know, the female version of the best man."

"Maid of Honor is the term you're looking for, Isabelle dear." Hanji informed her.

"But has he talked to you yet?"

"Oh, no. Not yet." But if that really was the case she was sure that he'd seek her out to ask soon enough.

"Well, he's bound to do it soon so you should probably start thinking about what you're going to say."

"Did they decide who was going to be the flower girl yet?" Petra inquired.

"I think it's probably going to be Athena who gets that job; I know that Asher is playing ring bearer for the occasion and Rivaille has already asked Farlan to be his best man."

"Oh, it's Eren who's dropping the ball then? He'd better get on that seeing as 23 days will pass fast." The wheels squeaked loudly as they turned the corner into the parking lot of the dress boutique. "Shorty has asked Erwin to be a groom's-man but I'm not sure if he's going to do it."

The engine died as she pulled out the key, the doors banging shut behind the other three as they got out. "He should just accept the offer; the difference in height may be a little distracting for the crowd but it's another way for him to show that the internal bonds of the Legion are no longer strained."

"Has something changed between them?" nothing had seemed different when she had seen them together the night before but, then again, there had been so many people at last night's party that she couldn't be sure if any tension had been there at all.

"Oh, that's right. You weren't around the two of them together before it happened." Isabelle grinned widely, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as she walked backwards to speak with her. "Originally Rivi and Erwin barely got along, refraining from strangling each other 80% because Eren stopped them and 20% because they both had a 'begrudging respect for each other' Then Rivi proved that we really are different than the M.P. members by proposing to Eren; they've been getting along much better recently because of it. I'd even say they're becoming friends."

If that really was the case, achieving her goals for being there had just become a lot more difficult. "Well, that's good to hear. All of the Legion's energy can now be put into crushing the Rose instead of being standoffish with each other."

"I know it probably doesn't seem like it but we aren't trying to crush the Rose. We hope to eventually have the Hunters as allies. Without their help, even if we do manage to defeat Kenny the Dawning won't happen. We need everyone to get along together in order to finally stop all of the fighting."

The ravenette stared at her for a moment, taken aback by her answer. "Petra, surely at least some in the Legion are reasonable enough to realize that your 'everyone holding hands and singing Kumbaya' fantasy isn't going to happen, even after the war is over.

"Of course we know that dear." Hanji informed her with a laugh. "Our beloved Shorty has every possible problem beaten over the head with a hammer; it would seem that he and Eren spent quite a long time bouncing ideas off of the wall and each other, planning and replanning for every possibility and all of its eventualities back before they were chased out of Stohess." The little bell hanging over the door jingled lightly as it was pushed open. "As to what those are I'm not entirely sure, so if you'd like to know you can go and ask him. He'll be free for the greater part of the day after the three of us kidnap Eren to get him fitted too; he didn't like it much when I used him as the model to fit out uniform, so this time around we figured it would be best to allow a professional together."

"Your brother is such a drama King! The minute that he heard he has to get fitted he went on a tangent of 'not again! The last time I let you guys fit me you turned me into some sort of voodoo pincushion! If I get prodded by one more pin I'm going to bleed to death!' And then of course Rivaille got all protective and forbid us from being the ones to hold the pins."

"He's always been like that," she informed the other three with a sigh. "And yes, I think I will stay behind. I'd care to avoid seeing my brother in a dress for as long as possible."

The others immediately started laughing. "Do you really think that Shorty would force him into a dress? When Eren asked him about it, he nearly choked on his drink." Hanji informed her brightly. "Both of them are going to be attending in suits-Armani, because he refuses to accept anything but the absolute best-but Eren's will be the bride's traditional white. The color of the shirt and tie he wears under it will either be silvery-blue or lavender, it all depends on the color we decide on for our dresses so that we have coordination."

"Do you have any color preference, Mikasa?" Petra asked her calmly.

"_I want purple!"_ Isabelle crowed.

"I don't usually wear dresses, so I really don't know anything about them." She admitted quietly after another moment. "I don't mind either way."

"We'll just have to wait and see which color looks better with the design, then. Here comes one of the tailors now."

A very tall, very thin woman with thick ropes of blonde hair piled on top of her head in a rather outlandish beehive was hurrying towards them from across the room, covering quite a bit of ground quite quickly despite the blade thin heels on her feet. "You four have appointment, yes?" he accent-what sounded like Russian-was so thick that one had some trouble understanding what the woman had said at first. Luckily Hanji's comprehension was quicker than hers and she answered almost immediately in the affirmative.

"Yes, we called it in last night. Zoe, party of four for bride's-maid dresses." They were lead to a corner of the store where a small cat walk and a cage of mirrors had been erected. Luckily for her sanity-having never been one for wearing 'girly' clothing in the first place-their choices had already been narrowed down to two colors of the same dress; a shimmering metallic silver-blue that reminded her of clear water and a soft pastel purple. The design of the dress itself, much to her relief, was nothing gaudy; a simple design-elegant and dignified-of a sleeveless form fitting bodice and a skirt that belled out just slightly around the waist to cascade gracefully to cut off at her knees. By the time the ordeal was over with it looked like Eren wouldn't have as easy a time determining the color of the shirt and tie he'd wear, as Isabelle and Hanji had both gotten purple dressed while she and Petra had ended up with the blue one. Eren came running out the front door to meet them as the car pulled into the driveway.

"So, how did it go?" he asked brightly, hugging his sister as she clambered out of the black seat of the car.

"You're going to have to figure something out; we didn't manage to come to a decision on a mutual color so we got two."

"I kind of figured that would happen," Eren slid into the back seat of the car and looked at her expectantly. "I've got a plan, though. Don't worry. You coming?"

"Uh, no actually. I wanted to speak to him," she glanced almost worriedly over her shoulder at the house, "about a few things that weren't cleared up last night."

"Play nice; tell him I said that for _both_ of you."

"I have a few questions, I'm not going to start a fist fight or anything if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm glad to see that you two are getting along." He said, grinning before reaching back across the seat to grab the door. "I guess I'll see you later, than."

"Yeah, see you." The car door banged shut and the other four drove away, leaving her standing on the curb. How absurdly threatening the white washed house looked to her, its overtly clean windows seeming to glare challengingly out at here. There didn't appear to be many lights on inside, but then again it was getting close to noon and the sum was plenty bright; given that her brother hadn't said anything to the contrary before he'd left she assumed that her intended audience was indeed home. Her knock on the door was answered by Collin, who observed her warily through his wire rimmed glasses as she stepped into the front room from outside.

"Eren just left." He told her after a moment, watching as she slid off her shoes.

"I'm here to speak to my cousin, not my brother."

"Oh, uh…Follow me; he should be in the study, though he probably won't take kindly to being disturbed there."

"Well, he'll just have to deal with it!" Mikasa's reply was more than snappish but by this point her patience in matters had run out. The scrawny bean-sprout of a kid-formerly a first year at the academy-jumped in surprise before racing up the stairs, using one hand to pin his too-big glasses to his face; she followed after and soon found herself left outside of a sturdy wooden door. After two knocks went unanswered Mikasa gave up on courtesy and simply barged in. A small fire cracked in the stone hearth set into one wall-more for show that to warm the room, as it was tolerable outside-flanked on either side by large book cases filled with thick texts on language, law and finance. The desk was enormous, wooden and appeared hand made with her cousin seated behind it in a claw-foot leather chair, attention focused so intensely on the chess board in front of him that he didn't notice her presence in the room.

"Are you really playing against _yourself_, or am I just imagining things?"

Rivaille's start of surprise was almost indetectable, but the pawn he'd been moving slipped out of his feather-light grasp and clacked against the marble tiles of the game board. "Yes, as a matter of fact I was; take it as a sort of solitare, only without cards. I have found over the years that my mind is well structured for determining every possible branch of every possible angle that my opponent could choose to take before his first move can even be formulated in his mind. As such," he retrieved the dropped pawn from where it had fallen and placed it upright in the intended position, "playing against myself is a simple task; I split my conscious, in a way, and see which strategy is forced into Zugzwang first."

"Zugzwang?"

He nodded. "A chess term; German in origin, shockingly enough. A forced surrender in which your opponent realizes that any move they make would only put them at more of a disadvantage." His eyes flashed across a board like a bolt of lightning through the adjoining clouds of a summer storm before he switched to the other side of the board and moved the white knight forward. "It is what I hope to do to your order; less bloodshed will come of the fighting that way."

"I am not a Hunter anymore so why do you refer to me as such?"

"Just how much of a fool do you take me for, my dear?"

"Don't counter with a question, damn you!"

He sighed, still not moving his gaze from the board. "I am neither gullible nor blind. I know that what you said to me on the phone about you coming to us for help with your nature was very true, but I am also well aware of the fact that you seek to leverage your blade to dismantle the Legion from inside." Another flurry of movement in which the black side's lines were blown open. "If you wish to bare the cross of Ackerman alone, to be the last of our clan, then so be it. Follow through with your orders, kill your brother. Because killing Eren is killing me," the white queen fell heavily before the black king, which was promptly tipped over with a casual flick of his thumb revealing the Wings of Freedom carved into its base. " Check mate."

Even as calm of a person as she was under any other circumstances Mikasa knew full well that by this point she'd be panicking, but there was something about how muted-how _resigned_-her confronter was that didn't ruffle her at all and yet shook her to her very core. "Not saying that you're right, but what would you do about it if your accusations were to be true."

Picking up the white queen in one hand, he examined the ivory piece carefully for a moment before answering. "What would I do?" the piece came flying at her from his position behind the desk, an underhanded and gentle throw but suddenly enough to surprise her into very nearly missing it completely. "Nothing. There really isn't any point."

"What do you mean that there isn't a point? Of course there's a point!" She snapped back at him, frustration heating up out of nowhere. "Who the hell does nothing when a rival spy comes amongst their ranks in a war and they _know_ they're there?"

"Someone trying to win that war." His reply was calm and measured at, as controlled as every other aspect of his life. "Let us continue this pattern of thought and keep up the chess metaphor a while longer; even if you don't play it yourself it should still make enough sense that you'll begin to comprehend my reasoning. Take a moment to examine that piece in your hands, if you would. Everything about it. Its curves. Its flaws. It's weight and thickness. Ivory is a strong material, but against our kind's strength it is as brittle as glass. Let us say that that piece is you, sent in by the Rose to checkmate out of desperation. Do you follow me so far?"

She nodded. "Yes, I follow you. Continue."

"We know that you are here and we know exactly why. We could imprison you. Or torture you. Or kill you. Those are the things that you expected to befall you should you be found out, yes?"

"Yes."

"Say that we did kill you-or break that piece which represents you, in keeping with our metaphor. It wouldn't make a difference, in the end; look at all of the tools still left to the other side; knights, castles, bishops, rooks and pawns. All dangerous in their own right, some more so than others. In the end it only delays the inevitable and leads to more bloodshed on both sides. Still following?"

"I believe so."

"Now say instead that we do nothing aside from take measures to prevent you from achieving your perceived goal, allowing you to-over time-realize the truth of matters and join our cause instead. Now, we have one more piece at our disposal and our opponent has one less."

"Does one piece really make that much of a difference?"

"In a war of precision, perhaps not. But in the real world, it does indeed. After all, it only takes one man to bring down an entire civilization if the right strikes are made at the right times. I have confidence that, given time, you'll come to see the truth." A small hand motion signaled for her to toss the piece back, and he quickly set the board back up once she had. "Mindsets are like glaciers, even the firmest of the shift, but it takes a really long ass time."

"If I were to even so much as think of fully joining your side I would need you to answer all of my questions, _realistically._"

"This is all hypothetical, of course?"

"Of course."

"Well, are your questions than."

"You didn't expect everyone to just immediately fall into line and get along just because the Legion won the war, did you?"

Rivaille actually laughed at her. "Of course not! I'm well aware that stubbornness, idiocy, and feuds will get in the way. That is why I want to get the Hunters on board prior to the conclusion of all of this; it will smooth things over more easily that way."

"What do you plan to do about any rebellions that might occur?"

"The Human authority-I hope that to be the Hunters-will handle any of the problems that arise with Humans. Rogue Vampires will be dealt with by us."

"What about the Military Police?"

"Disbanded; immediately and permanently."

"Your ultimate goal, in the end, isn't possible."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why would you say that?"

"Because you claim that your vision is an ideal world for both races, but in order for one race to have an 'ideal world' the other will inevitably have to sacrifice something." She pointed out. "Either way, your people will have to drink from blood bags or Eren's will have to live in fear of being fed from."

"Clearly we aren't seeing things the same way."

"And just how do you see them, then?" she snapped back at him.

"I see your point, don't get me wrong, but I have a way to get around it. I would use my relationship with Eren as a model. We'll develop a series of tests to compare compatible partners together. Whether or not those relationships remain platonic will be entirely up to the participants."

"And you expect all of this to just go off without any sort of hitch? As if the world were some sort of gigantic petri dish where every little thing, every variable, can be controlled by you?"

His gaze remained as unaffected as ever. "If you think that you're about to trick me into revealing that I'm nothing but some sort of egomaniacal narcissist with a God complex I'm afraid that you'll be disappointed. Loftiness of my goal aside, I'm not ignorant enough to think that everything will go off without a hitch. I'm well prepared for the inevitable tacks in the road."

"Do you really expect that the Hunter sect will work with you?" Mikasa asked him after a moment of silence. "Maybe they will for a while, but it won't be long before they turn on you."

"Eren has told me that the 104th are both reasonable and possessed of great influence, being among if not the best that the order has to offer. I'm sure that their word on our side will carry a great deal of weight."

"Rivaille, surely you know that it is the Vatican that leads the order, and thus it is the _Vatican_ that you must convince, impress or else enslave. It would never work!"

"Nothing ever works if you don't try to achieve it, Gamine. Even if it is a hopeless battle, it is a hopeless to make the world in which we live a better place for ourselves and for our children. And that is a cause which I, personally, would gladly die for." A soft knock on the door drew his frosted gaze away from her. "Come in."

The door swung open to reveal Asher and Athena on the other side, one holding two cups and a pot of tea and the other a plate of sandwiches. "Collin told us that you have company, Sir. We made lunch for you both." She said brightly as Asher glowered mutinously over his friend's shoulder at her. "I apologize if we interrupted."

"Not at all, as a matter of fact you both timed it perfectly at a lull in the conversation. Why don't you come in and eat with us; where are the other two?"

"Well, Collin left about five minutes ago to go and talk with Erwin and Darren ran off to the movies with Mike and Moblit I think." The silver blonde said, mindful not to disturb any of the carefully placed items in the room as she crossed to one of the unoccupied chairs.

"Is big brother still out with that mad woman and the other two, Sir?" Asher purposely perched himself on the best possible spot in the room to continue glaring at her, which just so happened to be on top of the desk itself; given that nothing was knocked over and he wasn't in the way, the raven didn't seem to mind too much.

"Yes. He won't be back for a while yet, Asher." Rivialle replied as he poured himself a cup of tea. "The food isn't poisoned, Gamine, and it doesn't bite. There's no need for you to look at that sandwich like it's assaulted you."

"I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself, but at least have some tea. It's good for you." He all but forced the cup into her hand, refusing to give her a chance to protest the matter.

"Shouldn't they be training?" she hissed, annoyed but taking it anyway only to turn around and promptly set it on the table. "Not a single one of them graduated before they bailed out, and at least one of them is only a first year."

"We both decided that it would be for the best to give them all the day off, as the brat is off trying on clothes and I don't know jack shit about Hunter training."

"You make them call you 'Sir'?"

"It's less of a mouthful than what they wanted to call me; Graham here pulled the term out of his ass the minute the brat told him I was his superior before all else and was to be treated as such. Where they learned the Japanese term for 'Corporal' God only knows."

"They refer to you as 'Heichou'?"

He nodded. "They do indeed. And, despite the fact that we're the same rank, they call Eyebrows Taichou." This seemed to be a point of small annoyance for him, and Mikasa would be lying if she said it didn't amuse her to know it.

"I am aware that, as you are Parisian, you speak French fluently as well as English. But I didn't know that you spoke Japanese as well."

"Sore wa anata ga watashi ni tsuite amari shiranai koto o ittemo kagondesu no de, sore wa fushigi dewa arimasen." That said, he paused a moment to observe her reaction.

"Tomatsu."

"I am very old, and as such I have traveled the world many times and seen many things. Once you've learned five languages your mind becomes better attuned to learning more; they come more easily. I speak 45 at this point. German isn't one of them." Rivaille glanced down at the gold ring on his hand. "It figures that I'm marrying a German born man; perhaps one day, I'll have him teach me."

"Your relationship with Eren is very sweet, Sir. The two of you together always makes me smile."

"Oh please Athena, don't be such a girl!" Asher complained.

"Mikasa," her attention was pulled back to her cousin as he poured himself more tea, "I'm aware that it is Human tradition that it is bad luck for the groom to see the 'bride' in their 'dress' before the wedding day. Do you know if Hanji is intending to enforce that rule? Because they should be returning any moment now and I need to know if it's safe to go downstairs or if I should stay up here."

"Even if she is I doubt Eren will still be in his suit when they get back."

"I suppose that's true." Rivaille replied almost absently, digging around in the top drawer for a moment before finding what he was looking for and pulling it out-a small pile of paperwork and a ball point pen. "Have you given any thought to Eren's offer?"

"You mean the one about me being his Maid of Honor?" he nodded. "He hasn't offered yet."

"But you know of it?"

"I heard about it this morning from Isabelle."

"And have you thought about it?"

"Not really, why?"

"Because I would advise that you start; they're back." A car door slammed shut just as he said it, quickly followed by the front door of the house opening and footsteps coming up the stairs. "In the study brat. Just come in."

The door swung open and allowed her brother inside; Eren crossed to the desk and delivered a chaste kiss and a smile to his fiancé before turning to face her. "Did you enjoy your boutique experience as much as I enjoyed mine, Mika?"

"Awful, wasn't it?"

"Well, it really could have been worse; at least this time I didn't get any unneeded pricks."

"I've got work to do, brats. If it isn't too much to ask, commiserate elsewhere." But there was no edge to his voice. The brunet rolled his eyes but lead the others out of the room; Athena floated off to find entertainment elsewhere but Asher remained stubbornly beside them as they headed towards the sitting room downstairs.

"Eren, can't you send him away? I could really do without the constant glaring."

Her brother sighed in response as he flopped down onto the couch and put his feet up on the table. "I'm sorry but I can't. I'm sure that you understand why; Levi must have spoken to you about our concerns."

"That and a lot of other things." Her voice was tart when she said it. "All of it civil; we 'played nice' as you asked."

Now Eren smiled as he pulled her down beside him. "I'm glad to hear that." His arm fell across her shoulders, the night beginning to settle into an image of so many spent before it curled together in the library of the barracks playing card games and telling stories with the others. "He's already gotten so much better but it will still definitely do him a world of good to have a good relationship with a blood relative. I'd even say the same for you."

"I don't need blood related family, or family at all! I'm fine with just my skills and my blades."

"That isn't true and we both know it." He rebutted calmly. "I can see that you're in pain, even if you don't. And if you think that destroying the Legion is for the good of the world, you're wrong. If you think that our blood will make the Rose look the other way of what you really are, then you're lying to yourself; allowing them to take you as a fool. But that is a dark conversation I'd really rather not have tonight, especially given that I have a favor I'd like to ask you concerning the wedding."

She knew by now what he was going to say, but something told him not to let him in on that. "What do you mean by 'something important'?"

"I'm not a woman and am by no means wearing a dress to walk down the aisle, but I'm playing the part of 'bride'; we are observing mostly Human traditions, aside from marking, and as such must deal with the matter of bride's-maids and groom's-men. And I was wondering if you would be willing to play Maid of Honor for the day."

Mikasa nodded. "I'd love to." He looked relieved to hear it and nodded. "Have you figured out a solution to the binary color pallet yet?"

"Well I figure that I have two things to wear under my suit; a shirt and tie. I can wear one in one color and one in the other."

"I suppose that's true." At least he wasn't planning something outlandish like tiger stripes or polka dots. "It's still hard to believe that you're really getting married."

"Sometimes I think so too. It feels like a dream, and then it turns into a nightmare when I remember that I have to start dance lessons tomorrow."

"It isn't as if you're learning ballet; as long as you can count to three you'll be fine."

He pouted. "Well, if I tell him that I can only go up to two will he let me get out of it?"

"Eren, he's smarter than that."

"Well, it was worth a try." His head fell back over the top of the couch with a heavy sigh. "At least it's only for a few weeks."

"You're really happy here? With them? With him?"

This sudden change of subject seemed to throw him off, and for a moment her brother simply stared at her in silence. "Of course I am. Do you really think that I would stay here, agree to marry Levi, if I wasn't. Why do you ask?"

"You don't miss the barracks at all?"

"I miss the others-our friends-and I miss having their trust which I know that I can likely never get back." He told her. "But I don't miss being saddled by all of the oaths and falsely perceived honor. I've found that the Legion truly has given me wings and for that I am more than grateful. I don't regret a thing, and even if I could go back and change it I wouldn't. Hopefully, soon enough, you'll feel the same."

"Well, I should probably be getting back; the four kids may well have today off but I, unfortunately, do not and as such I should really be getting back."

"I guess you're right."

"In case I don't see you again before tomorrow, good luck on your dance lessons."

"Yeah, thanks." Something about the sarcasm in his voice made her smile. "Knowing me, I'll need it."


	29. Cakes, Venues and Unneeded Invitations

The minute that she walked in through the front door of the house Petra was confronted by an enormous clattering bang resonating from the kitchen, and on rushing through the door of the room discovered that everything in the kitchen-counters, pans and her two friends-we're now covered in a thick layer of fine flour which had settled over everything like fresh snow in the first days of winter. The hollow sound of the large metal mixing bowl-dropped when he'd tripped-spinning at a constantly increasing speed until it finally settled out on the floor with a hollow sounding thud.

"What happened?"

"Bossard bit his tongue again and tripped while carrying the flour." Eld explained, wiping some of the white powder out of his eyes. "It's a lucky thing that we decided to make a miniaturized version of the cake in advance as practice because if this had happened on the big day it would have been a disaster."

"That's true, but it's arguably still a disaster. What are the two of you going to do about all of this flour?"

"Figure it out later," Oluo replied as he picked himself up off the floor, brushing the powder from his clothes. "We've got to finish this cake in two hours for Rivaille to inspect the style and determine if it will work for the ceremony. His sudden obsession with absolute perfection in spoiling him rivals his OCD about being clean and is almost as grating."

_Says the guy who walks around imitating him 24/7._

"Well, that's Rivaille; having worked for him for upwards of 390 years we should all know that by now." The blonde replied calmly as he picked up the bowl and refilled it with the precise amount of floor needed to make the cake. "We'll have to get a leaf blower in here after we're through with all of this."

"How long do you figure baking it will take?" she asked them.

"The cake itself will take about an hour," Eld told her. "Then there's letting it cool, leveling the tiers, applying the icing and adding on the embellishments and decorations. We'll likely be near to finished when he comes walking through the door to check up."

"Well, I have a feeling that he'll either be early or late to your meeting; he's out with Isabelle and Farlan attempting to choose invitations for the wedding."

"So it will be a while?"

"Probably."

"Let us hope; we need to finish this damn cake!"

"I still don't understand the point of all of this." Hours spent dragged around from store to store in Maria City, bombarded with table clothes, plates and cutlery, crystal-ware, catering and, probably worst of all, invitations. It had gotten to the point where he swore he'd go mad if he had to hold another stack of perfumed paper in his hands. "Everyone in the Legions and their mother already knows about the wedding and are well aware that they're expected to attend. So what's the point of invitations?"

"It's polite to send out invitations, regardless of whether people know already or not." Farlan informed him. "At the very least it tells them the date and time. And it's a part of the tradition."

"Rivi, don't be so impatient! It's supposed to be fun; planning and preparing is all a big part of the festivities!" Isabelle chided him brightly. "You're stressing too much over making everything perfect and not taking the time to enjoy it; Eren will love it no matter what happens because it's something that you're doing for him. Just relax."

He sighed, setting the design back down on the shelf before picking up another one. "I wish it were that easy, Isabelle. I really do." Picking up another stack of perfumed invitations, he examined them for a moment before emitting an exhausted sounding sigh. "Let's just get these and be done with; I still have to check out the model cake and tour and handful of potential venues-most of them outside-with Eyebrows before picking the brat up from the studio _and_ it's supposed to storm all day today _again_!"

Laughing, Farlan took his friend by the arm. "Come on, let's get him out of here before the clouds decide to drop that promised rain."

After ordering the chosen design the trio made their way out of the tiny store and drove across town to Eld's home, where the two had been busy trying to bake the cake. Inside they found a certifiable disaster zone with flour everywhere and the cake not even in the oven yet; seeing this fact the raven immediately turned around and went back out to the car.

"…I assume that means we're coming back later." Farlan told them as he and Isabelle hurried after their companion. "Rivaille, wait! Where are you going?"

"Amending my schedule; it appears we'll need to order a cake from a bakery as well. Clearly, those two don't do well under stress."

"So we're heading out to meet with Erwin, then?"

"I think that would be best." Rivaille agreed, sliding into the back seat of the car as the honey brunet got into the front. "We'll avoid the rain that way, hopefully."

The front wheels bounced slightly as the car reversed off of the driveway and back onto the street. "The latest weather report said it shouldn't start raining until four; it's two thirty now, so-for a while at least-we should be ok."

"The last time those idiots at the weather center were right about anything, as least as far as my memory extends, was in 1776 when they predicted the climate in the New World as 'revolution'."

"Rivaille, I think we both know what they say about pessimism."

"You're either pleasantly surprised, or right?" he deadpanned; judging by Farlan's sigh in response that hadn't been what he'd been going for. "I'm not a pessimist anyway, Church. I'm just realistic."

"Oh, Rivi, that reminds me! How have the plans for the honey moon been going?" Isabelle squealed far louder than was necessary, making the raven beside her grimace slightly.

"I'm still trying to figure out a way to get our transport out of Sina and over here, but aside from that it's going well. Especially considering that, after much haggling with Erwin, I've managed to set the length at 10 months."

"10 months?" his eyes shot up to stare at him through the rear-view mirror in surprise. "Rivaille, you are aware that most honeymoons don't last even one? What in God's name could the two of you possibly do with almost a year on your hands?"

"Spending a handful of weeks at each of a handful of places throughout Africa and Eurasia." Came the came and entirely shameless reply. "The brat wants to see the world, and I figured now would be as good a time as any to start. Eyebrows has assured me that he'll be able to handle anything that may come up and, as we will be flying a private jet, the brat and I can come home at any time if need be. The Rose seems focused for the moment on the Military Police; we'll allow them to keep themselves busy, and for time to soften them, before beginning our final steps towards Zugzwang. Hopefully by then my cousin will have come to terms with reality and fully joined our cause as well. If all goes well, this should all be over 16 months."

"You sound quite confident, even for you." Farlan noted.

Rivaille considered for a moment before nodding in reply. "Yes, I suppose I am; I have complete confidence in our allies and our plan. But let us focus for the moment on the happy occasion ahead instead of the resumed war looming on the distant horizon."

Erwin was waiting for them on the steps of the little white chapel when they pulled up; getting out, Rivaille walked up to him.

"Good afternoon Rivaille," he greeted. "You look exhausted."

"Exhausted? Yes, I'd say that I am; I've spent all day choosing random things for pointless shit! Do you know how many different types of spoon that that one place had? 275!"

"He's not exaggerating, that's the sad part." Farlan admitted.

"Well, I'm sure that this will be much less stressful of a matter." He replied with a laugh. "As a matter of fact, we happen to be at one of the venues now."

"Because nothing could go wrong by having a Vampire's wedding at a chapel."

"It's not as if the inability to cross onto hallowed ground is anything more than a myth." Erwin pointed out. "Just give the place a chance."

"I thought that we agreed the wedding would be held outside."

"This is two venues in one; inside of the chapel and outside around back. Either way, it's ideal."

"And just why would that be?"

"You've arranged that it will be a mostly Human wedding, but that Marking will still be a part of it?"

"You know the answer to that!"

"There's easy access to holy water here, or was Eren intending to turn on your wedding night as well."

"Of course not! But I won't have him drinking the stagnant dusty shit from a giant font!"

"I don't think they make distilled Holy Water."

"If they don't, they will. Now show me the places you wanted to show me because God only knows when it's going to start raining!"

"If that's really such a concern to you than I suppose we'd best visit the outside portion first; follow me." The headed around the back of the little white building, and down the grassy hill towards a white gondola and a number of rose-adorned terraces set up beside an enormous blue lake with a number of white swans floating on it. "There's plenty of space out here for everyone to attend without sacrificing for safety, as it's open enough to see things coming before they can reach us. I've spent quite a while looking for any places that met a convergence of all of your requests and this was the only one that I managed to find, so hopefully it measures up."

After another few moments of observing the scene, he nodded slowly. "Yes, I think it does. I'd like to say we'll plan for setting it up out here but in the event of rain will hold the ceremony indoors but I'll need to know what I'm getting into first."

"We can go in through the back door." They headed back up the little hill and in through the postern door. The little chapel was dark and empty, the pews shadowed and air perfumed by the faint smells of incense candle smoke and the standing water of the font, the large room warm and dry as those sort of places always were.

"Now seems like a good time to point out the brat's aversion to churches, not to mention the fact that for the life of me I can't imagine fitting everyone in here."

"Aversion to churches?" this seemed to take the other by surprise. "But he's a Hunter, isn't he? Last that I checked, given their capitol is the Vatican, they're all Christian aren't they?"

"He's an Atheist now; he used to believe at one point, but…well, it's a long story." Rivaille replied with a sigh. "The oxymoron he presented because of this fact was one of the things that originally interested me so much in him when first we met."

"I would assume that you, too, do not believe."

Now the raven laughed, a somewhat bitter sound as a small smirk curled his thin lips. "My answer would surprise you, then. I do not ascribe to any particular religion, but unlike most of my kind I do believe that a God of some sort does exist; I have seen Hell and carried the devil with me on my shoulder for long enough-had an intimate enough relationship with the darkness-that I myself backed into a corner on that regard."

"I think I understand where you're coming from." Came the blonde's reply after a moment. "You do not have faith, but you believe because you have to; if the Devil exists, than God must exist as well."

"Exactly. My point of contention on the whole 'religion' thing is the idea that Heaven gives a shit."

Despite the sigh of minor disappointment that issued from his company the expression on his face made it quite clear that he had seen it coming. "Care to inform me on Eren's reason for not believing in the patron of his former cause?"

"Well, it may have changed in recent months especially after your little story about the Hand and seen what it can do, but if you really care to know I suppose that I will tell you." Stepping around the cloth covered altar at the front, he moved to get a closer examination of the painting on the wall. "I'm sure that you're at least partially aware of the fact that he shares my cousin's status as an orphan?"

"I do remembering hearing something about that, yes."

"By all accounts his was a fairly normal childhood spent here in Maria, not far from where our house is now in fact. The only possible blip on the radar is the slaying he perpetrated at 9 years of age in defense of his adopted sister, taking out two of Reiss' best enforcers back before the time he took on those two morons Hitch and Marlo. About a year later his family was massacred by more of my Uncle's men, but Eren and the others managed to escape and find their way to the Hunters; I'm not really sure how, as he's never told me the exact details on that just a few vague things." Straightening up again, Rivaille moved on to a nearby sculpture of Christ hanging on a cross. "After it happened, he lost his faith; God hadn't saved his parents who, by all accounts, were good people. Innocent people. He stopped going to church."

"Were either or both of his parents Hunters themselves?"

"Unlike most who go into the Order, no. I became curious on that matter and looked into it myself; despite all of my research, I could find no connection to our world. Just a housewife who was devoted to her family and a man who made his living treating the sick."

"But if Kenny sent his men after them, they must have been specifically targeted for some reason." Erwin said grimly. "Random killings of Humans isn't your Uncle's style, even brutal as he is, especially in a city like this one."

"There was a reason." He replied slowly, face set into a stony expression as he turned back to his companion. "Their only crime was having compassion enough to come to the aid of the wrong orphaned child; her presence in their home extended the death warrant out on her head over to them as well."

"Does she know?"

"I'm not sure," Rivaille admitted quietly. "Even if she doesn't, I don't believe that it is information necessary for her to hear. At least, not yet. I feel that I may be beginning to gain some good graces with her, but if she begins blaming me for the deaths of his family as well as hers it would more than likely undo that. Besides," he pulled back the sleeve of the uniform jacket he wore just slightly to glance down at the watch on his wrist, "it's nothing more than speculation. Despite it not being a regular habit it does not rule out the fact that what happened to them could very well be random. Not to mention the very real possibility that I could have missed something."

"I suppose you're right on that account; we neither need her blaming you or feeling guilt against herself for bringing them there." Erwin agreed. "I assume that it's now about the time where you need to go and pick him up from his lessons?"

Rivaille nodded. "Yes, it is. Thank you for taking the time to do this; I know that you're very busy with my cousin on your hands, not to mention everything else."

"We all do our part to contribute, even to matters not directly concerning the war. It was the least that I could do." He answered. "Now, it would seem that your two friends retreated back to the car quite a while ago. It would probably be best not to keep them waiting any longer.

The other two were, in fact, waiting for him in the car.

"So, have you fallen in love with this place or did you send him off to find more venues elsewhere?" Farlan asked as his friend got back into the front seat.

"This is the best that we'll get inside of Maria, and our safety can't afford for us to go elsewhere." He replied. "It is good enough, let us hope it doesn't rain. Now, if it isn't too much to ask, can you drive? We can't be late to rescue the brat?"

"He doesn't get out for another 15 minutes and we'll be there in 5." But he pulled out anyway, likely spurred on by the death glare sent through the rear view mirror. They spent 10 minutes after arriving idling outside on the curb outside of the studio until an exhausted Eren stumbled out to the car and flopped into the back seat with a sigh of relief, forgoing the seat belt in favor of lying across the other's lap.

"I never want to hear anyone count to three ever again!" He wailed loudly as Rivaille leaned over to close the door he'd left open. "Why are you making me do this again?"

"Because you need to learn; it's only three lessons brat. You'll survive."

"No I won't!"

"No one has ever been 'dance lessoned' to death so I highly doubt that."

"There's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

The raven rolled his eyes. "Cheer up, we have another one of those ostentatious parties to host at the club tonight. You need to at least look like you're in a good mood."

"I don't think I have the energy left."

"We'll stop by home and rest first, we have a few hours."

"And get food?"

"Yes, and get food."

"Well, if that's the case, I'm feeling better already!"

How had he known that that would work?


	30. Something Old Something New

Chapter 30 - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

"Something old, something new, something borrowed and something-."

"Damn it Hanji, my _shirt _is blue!" He yowled, making her jump. Today, despite the happy connotations of things to come-hopefully soon, for the sake of his sanity-Eren was in an uncharacteristically bad mood. He'd been dragged out of bed at four in the morning when the sun was still in the process of hitting the snooze button on its alarm clock and held captive for just over 13 hours during which time he'd endured five baths, two showers, a manicure, a pedicure, the application of jet black eyeliner to 'bring out his eyes', a haircut or three and now was being hung with random shit he'd never seen before in his life as if he were some sort of makeshift coat rack. And to think he didn't even have his suit on, yet.

"Well, ok. I guess I'll let you slide by with that." Thank God! "There's still an hour or so left until go time though so there must be _something_ else that we can do to you before you get your suit on." He opened his mouth to protest, and maybe to claw at her face if that proved ineffectual, but a knock on the door stopped him in his tracks.

"Oi, Shitty Glasses, is Eren ready yet?"

Instantly all thoughts switched to escape. "Levi! Help me; get me out of here! They're all crazy!" But as the door started to open Hanji leapt into action, body blocking it and nearly bowled Rivaille over.

"_What the hell Hanji!"_

"What are you doing trying to go in there early? We've been over this! It's bad luck! Bad Shorty!"

"It sounds like you're mutilating him in there." He growled back, getting to his feet and making a show of brushing the dirt off of his suit.

"Oh, he's just being his typical overdramatic self; Eren is a little bit annoyed at us at the moment is all. He'll be fine!" She assured him. "Smile."

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because at occasions like this one they take pictures and you need to practice looking at least somewhat content with the situation on cue. Now smile!" He complied with a heavy sigh and she immediately turned pale. "No, never mind! Stop smiling! _Stop smiling_! You look like you're about to strangle me with a cravat!"

"The thought crossed my mind," he informed her flatly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a catering issue I have to help Farlan take care of."

"I'm sure that you'll be able to handle it fine without Eren's help; we aren't done with him yet."

"Well, when _will _you be done with him?"

"Soon."

"What the shitting hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, but all she did was cackle and dart back inside, locking the door behind her. With no other recourse left to him, he gave up trying to get in and went to find Farlan on the chapel's upper floor; thankfully the forecast for the day was blue skies and sun with only a light wind for the evening and they were only using the inside of the pitifully small building to prepare the food.

"Left. _Left_! No, not that left! Your other left!" Attempting to direct the caterers carrying the cake was how he found his friend.

"Having trouble, are we?"

"Oh, there you are! For a minute I was afraid that you'd snuck off to try and wheedle your way passed the girls to get to Eren."

"You think so little of my patience." Not that he was wrong about what he'd been doing; being rudely woken up at 4 in the morning had been bad enough, but the brunet being spirited away had been even worse. "You wanted me help, didn't you? Or was that merely a ploy designed to keep me on a leash?"

"I will need your help in like five or ten minutes. I think I can handle them on my own for a little while longer." He replied. "I know that Erwin wanted to see you; says that he has something for you. You should go and get whatever it is and come back; I'll definitely need your help by that time."

"And just where is Eyebrows at the moment? I'm not about to go running blindly around to search for him."

"Last I heard, he was down by the water outside helping Mike and Moblit set up the sound system."

"Because being stuck in a tower for 800 years teaches you _so much_ about modern technology." He snorted, taking off out the front door at a hurried pace and heading down towards the water. He expected that the blonde would be 'overseeing things' as the other two actually did most if not all of the work but to his surprise he found him on his hands and knees behind one of the gigantic speakers trying to figure out which plug went where. "Learning about the 21st century are we, Smithasaurus?"

"Yes, actually. It's really quite interesting how many wires these things have." The jab at him seemed to fly entirely unnoticed over his head much to Rivaille's amusement as the much taller man got to his feet. "But you're here because Farlan told you that I have something you'll find useful."

"Something like that." Erwin produced a small corked bottle from the breast pocket of his suit jacket and handed it over to him. Examining the contents for a moment he raised an eyebrow. "Uh…water?"

"Holy water, distilled to your specifications before being blessed which is why it took so long to get it." He explained. "Give it to him before the vows start, that way he can drink it after the marking to counteract any traces of your blood he might accidently swallow."

"I'll be sure to do that; at this point-as I've discussed with him not too long ago-the dose required to turn him is inordinately small. About…three droplets. Something like that." He slipped it safely into his own pocket. "Could I trouble you for the time as well?"

"Only 45 more minutes; not much longer." Moblit called, overhearing their conversation from where he stood fiddling with the sound board. "Are you almost finished with those speakers, Erwin?"

"Only a few more chords to plug in." He replied. "If you'll excuse me?"

"I have to run and rescue my best man from the clutches of the caterer's evil minions anyway." The raven told him. "I'll see you in about 30 minutes, seeing as I need to be waiting for the brat at the altar." Those 30 minutes passed quickly, Rivaille arriving back at his place after everything was taken care of with 10 minutes left to go. 5 minutes. 3 minutes. 1 minute. Behind the curtain, Eren shifted nervously and tugged at the sleeves of his jacket; his tie felt too tight, so he loosened it a little; he could feel sweat beginning to bead along his hair line out of nerves and the bouquet in his hands felt like it was made out of rock. When the music finally started it felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

"You'll do fine," Petra assured him as Athena went out to do her job as flower girl and throw petals everywhere. "He's out there waiting for you; everything will be ok. Just go."

His throat was too constricted to speak, so Eren just nodded and stepped shakily out into the aisle. He'd been too terrified to notice while coming down from the church but the area that had been chosen for the ceremony was incredibly beautiful. The spring rains had turned to well-manicured lawns a sharp emerald and with the little white chapel sitting on the hill in the background behind him it looked like something out of a painting. At somewhere around 6 in the evening the sun was just starting to set behind where Rivaille stood waiting for him, turning the sky blood red and glinting off of the water of the pond in flashes of sapphire which made the raven-haired apparition before him appear almost as an arch angel surrounded by a halo of gold. The aisle separating them was paved in crimson carpet and pearl white petals, flanked on either side by an invariable sea of matching white wicker chairs-all occupied-and overshadowed by flower terraces which created a tunnel of blooming deep red roses for him to pass through. All of the fear melted away as the other offered a small smile and a hand to help him up beside him, grey-blue eyes blazing with a fire like he'd never seen.

"Tu es la plus belle créature dans le monde entire, Eren Jӓger." Though all he understood of the words was his name the sheer amount of love put behind them was enough to make his heart soar as the others all took their places on their appointed sides; a small vial was pressed into his hand as their appointed 'preacher' scrambled into place to run through the vows, both saying 'I do' when need be all without really paying attention, communicating with looks and small touches almost imperceptible to the audience and decipherable only to them until the long awaited permission was given. "What, no veil?"

The brunet smirked. "If you wanted a veil to lift you should have asked me to go for the dress, though God only knows what they would have done to me then." It was little more than a peck that they shared, but it was filled with longing to be alone and the promise of more to come once they were. "Now we do the marking?"

He nodded. "To make it scar you're going to have to dip your teeth in silver, but seeing as you're not one of us yet that will in no way cause you any pain and likewise as you're still human I won't be required to do so in order to leave a scar. What I'm most concerned about is-."

"Levi," his hand came to rest on his shoulder, "I have the Holy water, remember? I'll be fine. But I have one more question; do I drink it before or after?"

"Immediately after, even if you think you didn't swallow anything." He told him. "Are you ready?"

Eren pulled the little vial back out of his pocket and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. Where's the silver?"

"Patience, brat. Let me get it." Crossing to the makeshift altar which had been erected for the occasion he picked up the heavy metal chalice and brought it over; inside was about an inch of what looked like metallic paint; he held it out to him and Eren took it.

"Do I…drink this?"

"That depends, do you want the metal detectors at the airport to flip their holy living shit over your new grill, or your dentist to go mining for ore when next you visit him?" the raven snorted. "No, dip your canines in the silver. Would you rather that I demonstrated for you?"

Eren handed the gilded cup back to him. "I think that's a good idea, though I don't quite see why you would since you said you didn't need to."

"To make a scar on you, I don't. But knowing you, and the ineptitude with simple-all be it fairly vague-instruction you just demonstrated I do." Backed into a corner by the fact that he himself agreed, he didn't argue with that statement and watched closely and quietly as the demonstration was given; Rivaille carefully tipped the cup just slightly to one side and dipped his fangs into the liquid inside, wincing slightly at the dull stinging sensation that resonated up into his jaw like a bad tooth ache, a pair of small droplets hanging, shimmering like stars, from the tips that were as thin as hypodermic needles. He motioned for him to turn around and, once Eren had done so, slid the coated points into the nape of his neck just to the left of his spine. "Not too difficult; think you can repeat that?"

He nodded, taking the chalice back again and doing his best to imitate what the raven had done but with much less success given that his canine teeth were by no means fangs in the way that the others were. Oce having finally managed to do so, he leaned down over the other's shoulder and-after a great deal of pressure was applied-managed to make enough of a mark to draw blood. Rivaille winced again from the stinging-vaguely reminiscent of peroxide in an open wound-as it sealed itself up, watching the brunet quickly down the contents of the vial before reaching up to wipe away the blood trickling down to stain the collar of his white suit red. "Shall we cake, then?"

Rivaille smirked at him; a part of him could swear it was the cake that he'd really been waiting for. "Yes, we shall cake indeed." There was a spring in his step as he hurried to where the cake sat, grabbing the knife with a giant grin on his face and waited for the raven who had followed directly on his heels. "I know that we're supposed to receive all of the 'congratulations' bullshit but the brat wants his cake first so everyone hold up a second."

"Hold on; don't just cut the thing we want a picture first!" Naturally there had to be _something_ to slow proceedings somehow, and naturally it had to be _her_ that instigated things. "Don't glare at me; I _told_ you that you should practice smiling!"

"Oh, just taking the fucking picture and get it over with!"

"If you want it over with than stop complaining and get into place." Hanji chirped as she pulled out the camera, waving one hand in an effort to direct him. "Move over to stand beside Eren; in front of him because you're shorter."

"Fuck you!"

She ignored him. "Scoot over a little bit; both of you need to be seen but the cake needs to be seen too. Can you both hold the knife please? Act like you're cutting it."

"Je vais vous couper si vous ne prenez pas l'image!" Though the words probably flew over her head the warning tone seemed to get through to her at least somewhat as a flurry of shudder flashes later they'd been freed to cut the cake. "Can that slice get any bigger?"

"You do realize that we're sharing this, right?" came the immediate retort.

"I don't eat much to begin with especially with how well fed you keep me. Especially such saccharine things as cake and frosting." He pointed out. "The 'sharing' you're so afraid of is me eating one bite because I have to as these idiots continue taking pictures. A slice an eighth that size is more than enough!"

"Clearly you and I see 'enough' differently when it comes down to desert." Eren snickered, using his fork to carve a massive piece off of the slice before offering it to him. "Let's commence the picture taking gauntlet and get it over with."

"That this is a slice in and of itself!"

"Don't exaggerate."

"You expect me to manage _that _in one bite?"

"I've seen you fit something much larger in your mouth!"

"Well, that's a bit raunchy of you brat!" Rivaille snorted. "Though I won't argue that it isn't true." More pictures fired off as he relented and allowed the other to foist the forkful of cake on him. More slices were cut and passed around as well wishers gave them congratulations handshakes and hugs. The table full of gifts was left to be opened after all of it was over, and the banquet began. Almost immediately once everyone began a clinking of crystal rang out as Erwin stood up to give the first speech.

"Close to 950 years ago we, the Turned, the Half Bloods, were horribly oppressed by the Pure Bloods of the Military Police. 925 years ago we banded together as one and raised our swords against our oppressors. Now, 807 years after we fell back beneath their shadow we have risen again and on this night have become a movement, a cause, a _family_; Turned, Half Blood, Pure Blood and Human banded together beneath the same flag! Brothers and sisters, let us raise our banner once again and give no quarter in our quest to change this world for the better! To the coming dawn! To the United Legion! To the union of our two newest brothers, Eren and Rivaille. May it be long and happy."

Rivaille's small smile as Erwin sat back down slithered off of his face almost immediately when he caught sight of Farlan standing up. _Oh boy, here we go!_

"Well, having known you for as long as I have, Rivaille, I have to say that marriage was probably the last thing I ever thought would be in your future, what with how totally uninterested in feelings of any sort and how generally cold and antisocial you were. But, hey, you proved me wrong." The raven lowered his head to the table cloth with a somewhat embarrassed sigh as laughter spread down the filled tables. "That was before, and this is now. You, my friend, have changed and only for the better. But that, I suppose, is what happens when you fall in love. If anything will be able to win this war, it will be the rest of us learning to work together to way that the two of you do. To your long lives and happy marriage."

And then he sat down and it was Mikasa who stood up to speak about Eren. For a moment she just stood there, her dark opal eyes shadowed and expression somewhat thoughtful and sad as if she'd pitched her original speech and now didn't quite know what to say. For almost three minutes this went on before she finally spoke. "It is said that once, long ago, all creatures had two face four arms and four legs. But then, seeing this, Heaven split each into two bodies and set them on the earth apart from each other so that each were doomed to search for their other half, the one that they were meant for, their soul mate." She stopped, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment with her hands shaking rather violently; for someone normally so calm and collected this amount of nerves was unusual under any circumstance. "Soulmate. It's really a cliché term, over used and tossed around far too much now a days; romanticized and over idealized from the original intent of what it truly means. But in all honesty I believe that it is the best term to apply to their relationship, especially with how profound of an impact, of a change, they've each inflicted on the other's lives. I've only recently come into the knowledge of who and what I really am so there isn't much that I can say about my cousin prior to him meeting Eren, but I know enough-more than enough-about my brother to be able to tell you that he has changed a great deal indeed. After the murder of his parents by Pure Bloods he developed a single-minded hatred for a race of creatures he'd grown up thinking nothing more than myth, and his hell bourne-as our instructors were often heard to call it-drive to wipe them all from the face of the earth earned him both the rank of #5 amongst the elites of the 104th regiment _and_ a place amongst the best in the order's history. As a matter of fact, he met Rivaille after attempting to stake him in an empty alleyway behind the Devil's Thorn. Knowing these things, I think you can all now begin to get an idea of what sort of changes I'm talking about." She turned to face the pair at the head of the table now, and though a faint shadow of reluctance still remained in her eyes the hatred and mistrust that had formerly been there when she looked at the raven had vanished. "Only love has that power. And evil cannot love. Anata go katta, Rivaille. Happiness is something that both of you deserve." She sat back down quickly as Mike raised his glass of champagne.

"To Eren and Rivaille!"

The toast was repeated by many voices, spreading throughout the party like a wind through a grassy plain as everyone dug into their meal; Coq au Vin with potatoes and root vegetables. Darkness had fallen completely by the time that everyone had finished, the stars shining brightly about their heads as they moved towards the outdoor dance floor which had been set up.

"This is all so beautiful, Levi!" Eren told him quietly as they walked hand in hand. "You and all the others went through so much trouble."

"I wanted to make this night above all others one that you will never forget, even centuries from now. Lights always shine so much brighter when surrounded by darkness, a time of joy amidst war." Rivaille answered before pointing towards the silver slash which streaked across the heavens. "Ѐtoile filante; a falling star. Make a wish, Aimee."

"A wish? I already have everything that I could ever want." Eren replied, his green eyes glowing with a few unshed tears, a little bit overwhelmed by all of the emotions he was feeling. "You're enough. More than enough."

"For me, so are you."

"Listen _up_ everyone!" Hanji shrieked into a microphone, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in attendance. "I'm sure we're all dying to start having fun, but tradition calls for the first dance to be one where the floor belongs solely to the guests of honor. Shorty, Eren-dear, where are the two of you hiding?" Surprisingly Rivaille said nothing against her annoying nickname for him and gently dragged Eren out of the crowd. "Now, Shorty here specifically picked this song for their first dance but wouldn't tell me why; I'm sure he'll tell Eren and we'll get it out of him later. So, without further ado, Bauklӧtze."

Eren looked down at his companion with one eyebrow cocked slightly. "German?" he nodded. "Toy Blocks?"

"That's the English translation of the title, yes; I looked it up." Rivaille informed him in amusement taking his hand and placing the other on his waist. "You've never heard it before and it wasn't playing when we first met or anything cheesy like that but I firmly believe _this_ is our song. The lyrics are a metaphor for our entire relationship; how we both broke through the other's walls to show them that love _isn't_ something that destroys."

"It's certainly beautiful but it also sounds…almost sad." The brunet mused, narrowly avoiding tripping over his own feet as he was pulled around into a graceful turn. "I never would have pegged you as a romantic."

"I lived through the era of romance, Cheri." He replied. "Though you're right, I'm normally not. But you change me."

Eren smiled but didn't answer as the song progressed and the pair continued to dance; soon the brunet began singing along under his breath, translating the words into English.

_Is this the destroyer_

_Or did he create us?_

_The swords that our hands wield_

_Are blazing with hatred._

_Is this what became of_

_Our fate and our own will?_

_The battle is rising_

_Waiting for the hot wind to take our wings!_

A few seconds passed before he nodded, the momentary change in lighting as the glow of a burning torch reflected back out of his eyes transforming the green into a striking gold. "It's grim, but I think you're right. It suits us."

"I'm glad that you agree." As the music changed to another song, Rivaille changed the subject. "I see that those dance lessons came in handy."

"…Maybe just a little." The brunet begrudgingly admitted, making the raven laugh.

"You downplay it because you hated your instructor." He snickered knowingly, imparting a quick kiss to his lips. "Now, I'm afraid that-no matter how much we may wish otherwise-you and I both have an obligation to dance at least once with everyone here before the night is over."

"Yeah, you're right." Eren agreed with a sigh of his own. "Promise me we'll have at least one more dance together afterwards if there's time?"

Rivaille flashed his rare, full smile which he reserved only for him and nodded reaching up to run his fingers lovingly through Eren's still stubbornly untamed mane. "I'll keep them all here later than scheduled if need be." They parted ways, Rivaille quickly losing sight of Eren in the massive throng. He spent the next slew of songs dancing with Isabelle, Hanji, Petra, and every other guest that he ran into who wished to before bailing out immediately when the music switched to Cupid Shuffle. More than a little bit tired and finding himself in need of a break and some breathing room he collected a glass of water before making his way over to the white gondola at the edge of the pond where he and Eren had said their vows a few hours before. There, to his surprise, he discovered one of the few people he hadn't yet danced with or even seen in the crowd standing at the railed edge staring out over the water evidently deep in thought. "Gamine?" She started slightly and turned to face him. "What are you doing all the way over here alone?"

"Thinking; what about you?" still fairly defensive but no longer as combative as before.

"Taking a break." Rivaille told his cousin honestly, moving to stand beside her at the rail after a moment further and leaning against it himself. Under the light of the moon and stars the blue water of the pond appeared black, the glass smooth surface disturbed only by the ripples of a pleasantly cool breeze and reflecting their images back at them like an ink stained mirror. "Have you been here since dinner ended, or have you danced with anyone?"

"With Eren. But then I left the dance floor. Came here. To be alone."

He sighed. "I know it's hard for you to believe, but you and I really aren't that different; I understand. I do. This type of thing really isn't usually our…forte. But I will tell you this; is does no harm to cut loose once in a while but it does no good not to. Why don't you come and dance with me; I've been informed that it's impolite that I not dance with everyone at least once especially given that we're family."

For a few seconds she observed him oddly before speaking. "Are you really asking me to do the Chacha Slide with you?"

To Mikasa's complete surprise he started laughing. "Oh mon dieu, non! I meant _dance_ when I said dance. Whatever they're doing over there right now looks more like answering to the demands of the voices in their heads." She had to fight not to crack a smile at that. "I suppose we'll have to choose between small talk and awkward silence to fill the time now won't we? Beautiful weather tonight."

"Indeed it is; I think you chose the only night all April with no rain."

He hummed quietly in agreement. "Small miracles." Came the answer. "You've been growing out your hair?" Referenced to the black ringlets now falling passed her shoulders.

"For the wedding; I figured it would be better to grow it out. It's easier to style that way. I'm cutting it again tomorrow."

"Why? You look beautiful, though I doubt my opinion matters. It probably just makes you want to cut it more."

"Sudeni hondai ni!"

"Cut to the chase?" he raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean; you want to know why."

Only silence followed her statement until, finally, he nodded. "I am curious to say the least, to what changed your mind. I will admit that much. But I hadn't planned to questioning you here."

"You'd have waited 10, almost 11 months until you returned to ask me about something so important?"

"You are young yet. I am old. Old enough that 10 months is but the blink of an eye in the face of an eternity. My patience with people may only extend so far, but I can wait as long as I must for that which is important Gamine." Rivaille said. "Though, if you wish to tell me now, by all means go ahead."

"I've been doing some thinking since our last conversation, and I've come to the conclusion that hoping to cling to the side that is 'good' and fight against the side that is 'evil' is pointless because neither side is. This matter is one far more complicated than those simple labels could ever hope to cover. I've spent a lot of time considering. Going over every little thing-policy, methodology, morality-and comparing each to the other. And though I firmly believe that _neither_ side is right, I've come to the inevitable conclusion that the Legion is better. It will be difficult for me to adjust, but you have my support…cousin."

"That is something I'm glad to hear, Gamine."

"Now I have to problem of coming up with some way to placate the Order."

"For now, I suppose, it would be best you told them a portion of the truth; that Eren and I am no longer in your reach as for 10 months we'll be on the other side of the world." He told her. "Do you know how best to lie?"

"Keep a straight face?"

"Not quite, though that is an element." Rivaille informed her. "The best lies always have a kernel of truth on which they are founded. That truth may well be as twisted as our Uncle is, but it is a truth none the less. And _that_ is what makes it believable."

"I'll keep that in mind."

He nodded. "Have a little faith, you'll figure something out Double Agent." The song playing over the speakers finally changed back to true dance music, and he pushed lightly off the railing to stand. "Well, shall we? Or would you rather be left be?"

For a while she didn't speak, then sighed and took his offered hand. "You're right; sulking does no good in the end. I may as well try to have a little fun."

"Well, you're certainly more adept than your brother is at this." He noted with a smirk. "Are there lessons in your past or is that just a female thing?"

"No lessons, so I suppose it is. What about you?"

"Many, many lessons. I could, if absolutely necessary, have taught the brat to dance myself but there was just too much else going on to do so. I probably would have done a better job."

"Eren has two left feet when it comes to anything but combat so I doubt it." She told him. "It would have just driven you crazy, trust me."

He smirked. "That I doubt. My patience for him stretches indefinitely as I've learned first-hand."

"Does it?"

"He's pushed and prodded in every direction possible. I've gotten cross more than once, but everything always smooths itself over; with most others I tend to hold a grudge for a very long time."

"How long have you held one against our Uncle?"

"'Grudge' does not even begin to describe how I feel about that vile monster." He snarled in reply. "I can't even bring myself to call that beast a man; he's less than that. A sick dog that needs to be put down! Even hatred isn't strong enough. My maleficence towards him burns hotter than the fires of the 9th inferno, which I soon hope to cast him into. Though I doubt that even the Devil could stand to be within 100 feet of him."

"Animus?"

"I'd say that it's putting it lightly but this is hardly an occasion like this one and, besides, the song is about over; I've taken a turn about the floor with everyone who would want it and now, as per your brother's request, must somehow locate him in this crowd for one more before we head to the runway."

"Wouldn't want to disappoint him."

"We'll speak again in a few months, Gamine." He disappeared into the crowd almost instantly with the help of his small stature, skirting partygoers left and right before finally honing in on the familiar white suit. "There you are, aimee."

"Levi!" The brunet chirped brightly, the slight off kilter swaying of his fairly wiry form making it rather clear he'd had a bit too much wine over the course of the night. "What time is it?"

"Almost 10; we've got 5 minutes before we have to leave if we're to meet schedule. Enough time for that last dance you wanted."

Eren hiccupped quietly, a drunken grin on his face as he followed after like a puppy on a leash. "I'm no good at this 'classical' dance thing, but I still like doing it because it's something that we do together."

"Tell me, brat, exactly how much wine have you had?"

"3 or 4; I'm not _that_ drunk!"

He snickered. "You're drunk enough for it to be funny; don't drink anything else unless you want to kick off our trip with a nice hang over."

"How much more could I possibly drink when we're leaving in five minutes?" he demanded, to which the raven had to concede a point. "Is it me, or did my balance not get any worse despite the fact that I can barely stand up on my own."

"Not overly surprising given what your sister told me."

"What do you mean?"

"That outside of combat you have two left feet."

"…It figures she would say something like that." He said with a sigh. "Do you agree with her?"

"At times, yes. Do you?"

"…Maybe."

"Well, all things get better with practice and you'll soon have all the time in the world." The raven pointed out diplomatically. "And once you've Turned your balance will certainly improve."

"But that won't come until after the war, remember."

"And unless you've suddenly decided to change your mind and challenge the MP to a dance battle you won't need to worry about it until then either, now will you?"

A moment later he nodded. "I guess you're right." The last few nights of the song that had been playing trickled off into nothingness and the pair subsided into stillness in the center of the floor. "Oh, the song is over. The night is over."

"But our lives together have just begun." Rivaille reminded the other quietly, beginning to pull him along by the arm again. "Come along brat, you and I have a plane to catch." The pair quickly made their way across the lawns and by the hill towards the front of the chapel; turning the corner they were confronted with the waiting limo and a sea of spectators armed with rice. "Oh dear Lord!"

"Should we run?"

"Yes!" But both knew they were getting pelted either way, especially after hearing Hanji's unmistakable voice shouting "Fire! Fire!" Uncooked grains rained down from all directions, flashing silver in the moonlight as they bounced off their backs and landed in their hair without letting up until the pair dove into the safety of the car's backseat. A happy scene. A good ending. If only that could have been the ending. But as she stood on the curb and watched them drive away into the night Mikasa couldn't help but worry for what the future held.


	31. Double Agent

Almost 10 months later…

That February day was cold and dreary, snow lying on the sidewalks and lawns in a layer 3 feet deep and ice covering every inch of the roads as it dripped crystalline stalactites of frozen water from the storefronts. It was the worst part of winter, in the days after both Christmas and Valentine's Day had passed and everyone had settled into the long haul of waiting for spring to come and the weather to warm amidst the annual torrent of rain. Her hurried passing down the sidewalk jostled quite a few of the Big Apple's stubborn residents out of her way, the book for the scarf around her neck trailing out behind her way meteor's tail of fire as it blazed across the sky and her gloved hands jammed into the pockets of her coat. Skidding to a stop in front of a Starbucks and slipping slightly on the ice, Mikasa yanked open the door of the coffee shop and stepped inside. The place was small, the walls painted in dark colors and the furniture dressed in leather; the air was warm-much to her relief, as by now her cheeks were tinged pink by the cold outside-and strongly scented by the smell of fresh ground expresso beans. Through the echolalia of coffee grinders and conversation her grey eyes swept the space with the precision of an apex predator, and she left the doorway only after she'd spotted her mark. His head was bowed slightly forwards as he read a newspaper, ash-blonde hair falling into his eyes and cup of coffee-no doubt cold by now as it looked untouched-sitting beside him. The crisp slapping sound of the thick manila envelope hitting the table top and exploding-spilling letters and pictures everywhere-startled him, and Jean's eyes shot up to meet hers as the paper he'd been reading fluttered to the floor.

"Is _this_ enough proof of what I've been telling the lot of you for the past 10 months?" She snarled at him, all of the pent up frustration erupting free after being kept inside for far too long as distantly she realized a sadistic sort of pleasure could be found in making him squirm. "You send me in to do this job leaving me no way to refuse despite the bullshit you tried to pass off and have been ridding me constantly about completing my mission when you're supposed to be focusing on the _Military Police!_ Well let me tell you something Horseface, it's physically impossible for me to assassinate my brother when he's _one the other side of the world!"_

"Calm down, will you?" he pleaded, trying his best to stop her from attracting any more civilian attention. "I believe you, I've been telling you all along that I believe you, but it's our superiors that need convincing!" She didn't comment but sat down across from him as he began looking over some of the pictures. "Great Wall of China, Buckingham Palace, Eifel Tower…is that a Sari?"

"There are letters too, in case the pictures aren't enough."

Picking one of them up, he scanned it quickly before glancing up at her in confusion. "Deer incident?"

"That happened on the Japan leg of their trip; don't ask." She snapped at him. "A much better question is why the hell we're meeting in New York city when it's three hours out of your way and five out of mine!"

"Neutral territory that is far enough away there's no chance of being stumbled on; trust me, I don't like it either." He told her, folding the letter back up and setting it down. "You look different."

"How do you mean?"

Amber eyes scanned her face; the pale skin, the shadows that were no longer etched beneath her eyes by constant stress, the black hair that now fell nearly to her waste. "Better; not as freaked out and over stressed as you used to be." He told her before adding "your hair is longer."

"Someone told me that I look good like this, and with how painfully honest of a man that bastard is I know that he wasn't just saying it because he felt obligated to do so." She replied. "Besides, it's nice to be able to do something with it if I want to. Not to mention it's a lot warmer in the winter."

"Well, you'll have to cut it again eventually; long hair and gear don't mix well and pony tails just provide your enemy with something else to grab on to."

"I suppose that's true." She watched as he gathered all of the letters and pictures back up and slid them into the envelope. "You're taking those?"

"You know that it won't be enough for me to just say that I saw them." He reminded her. "Do you know when the two of them are getting back?"

"Tonight, but I'm not sure exactly what time."

"Well, I'd advise that you do your best to complete your mission within the next few days; they're going to withdraw you soon."

"What? Why?"

"Because you've already been gone too long, and on top of that the M.P. is proving more troublesome than we expected."

"Inform them that I understand and will do my best. Is that all?"

"As far as I am aware, yes. It is." Jean replied. "We should both be getting back, especially seeing as you'll soon be missed."

"Actually, I managed to concoct a story about wanting to look at something that was only being sold in the city, but you're right. Wasting time won't help anything." She glanced towards the untouched coffee again as both got to their feet. "Did you even drink that at all?"

"Of course not, I don't like coffe; I only bought it because…that's what people do at coffee shops and I was trying to look natural!" He tossed it into the trashcan as they walked back out into the cold. "I suppose this is the moment when we do the secret agent thing where we start down the street, you get into some random car and I keep walking?"

"Not quite," she told him as the black limo rolled to a stop, "we do the 'you stand here like you don't know me while I get into that limo and drive away' thing. I'll see you all in a few days." The back door closed crisply behind her and the car immediately started driving again.

"How did it go, ?"

"Not well, but then again I never expected it to." She replied, gladly shucking off her coat in the heat of the car but leaving the scarf in place. "Gunther, do you know anything about the exact time that the two of them are getting back?"

"Not much longer; once I drop you off at your apartment I'm heading over to pick them up at the airport. Why do you ask?"

"Because I need to speak with my cousin." She replied grimly. "Something has come up."

"I'll let him know when next I see him."

"Thank you."

"Of course."

With that much taken care of, she allowed her exhaustion to get the better of her and fell asleep in the back seat waking up only after they'd arrived back at their apartment. "Thank you for doing that."

"I have been employed as Rivaille's driver for a very long time, and despite the loss of the manner and his desertion of the Military Police for a new cause he is still an aristocrat and I still have my obligations to him; you are his family and your role as a double agent is instrumental to our cause. It was no trouble at all. Is there anything else that I can do for you tonight?"

"No, thank you." She shut the door of the car and hurried up to her apartment, unlocking the front door after a few moments of fumbling with her keys and heading immediately into the kitchen to pull the flask from the refrigerator and pour it into a glass with a small frown of distaste. Forgoing the TV in favor of music, she flipped on the MP3 as she passed by on her way to the sitting room. The soft, melancholy notes of the piano immediately filled the space like snow falling down on an isolated field, a depressing and lonely song yet one she still found to be relaxing. Adversity and stress had been her constant companions for months, what with taking over Eren's training of the 4 students-that had been _so_ much fun, especially when Asher repeatedly refused to follow her directions-and trying to maintain her cover as a UC for the order when in reality she was now in the Legion's pocket. And now that she had to deal with being pulled back to the barracks? What would she do when stringing them along no longer became an option? Should she comply with her extraction order or blow her cover in order to stay?

"I was informed that you wanted to speak to me, Gamine?" she very nearly spilled the remaining contents of her glass in shock, whirling around to glare at her cousin in annoyance. Rivaille stood in the doorway of the sitting room, observing her with marked amusement in his pale eyes and a pair of small white boxes balanced in his hands.

"Do they not knock in France?"

"I did knock," he informed her patiently. "As a matter of fact, I knocked three times. You didn't hear me, so I let myself in; is that a problem?"

"It's impolite!"

"My apologies, but I was told the matter was fairly urgent. May I come in?"

"Little late for pleasantries now! Just sit, since you already barged in!" She snapped at him, fairly annoyed by his smirk. "Can I get you anything? I assume that you'll say 'tea' and I'll have to go into the kitchen and make it for you."

"Actually, I'll pass on that offer; the brat and I are both jetlagged as hell!" Now that he mentioned it her cousin did appear unusually tired. "I stopped in to speak to you on whatever matter has you so riled up and to drop off these; gifts."

"Boxes? My dreams have come true; how did you know!"

"You have a knack for sarcasm, has anyone ever told you that?" He drawled, easing himself into a leather chair before setting the boxes down on the coffee table. "I see that you kept your hair long after all."

"Been too busy to cut it."

"So, what was it that you needed to tell me so badly?"

"I had to go all the way into New York City today to meet with Jean to make another 'report'." She informed her. "And I've been told that I'll be ordered to return to Rose within the next few days."

"Is that so? Better timing couldn't possibly be had!" This, as evidenced by her look of surprise, was the last reaction she'd expected. "While the past 10 months have been mostly a distraction, I was able to harry the order a bit in Italy using some of my old Victorian Era contacts; they're very effective but far from subtle, and I have no doubt that your superior's are at least beginning to become aware that blue prints of Vatican city have gone missing."

"You're moving on the Vatican?"

"You said it yourself; a hostile takeover is the only way we'll bow them fast enough to overtake the MP."

"What should I do, then?"

"Simple, go back. Act the part. And when they send the 104th to help defend the capital wait for the signal and bring down the wards that are keeping us out." He said calmly. "In the meantime, we'll do our best to buzz angrily like a kicked beehive as if you actually did betray us. Now," he pushed the first of the two boxes towards her, "on to these; I remember you recently discovering the joys of having hair long enough to do things with and I figured that you would find this useful. It should work just as well in any length of hair, in case you ever do 'get around' to cutting it." Managing to open the box without too much trouble, she pulled out the tissue paper wrappings and unfurled the object inside; a tiny hairclip carved from dark green jade and etched with a pair of cranes in flight. "I stumbled on it while we were in Kyoto; it's hand made. The brat and I both thought you might appreciate a piece of your heritage."

"It's beautiful," setting it carefully back on its wrappings she took the other box he handed to her. "What's this?"

"Something with a more symbolic than practical use; the vial I purchased while we were in Romania. A reminder of the blood that runs through your veins." It was a necklace, the chain made of old beaten iron with a tiny ornate glass decanter filled with a thick red liquid which she recognized almost immediately as blood. "In the old tradition, this was a frequent practice. A reminder of the familiar pride you carry in and the bond shared within a clan; wear it well. You may also one day find another use for it, one never knows."

"Thank you. Really." An odd gift to say the least, but as strange as it was it also meant something.

"Of course. Make sure that you stop in and speak with Shitty Glasses before you head back to the order; she tells me you were taught some basic magic concepts and that she has a method of covert communication ready for you."

"I probably still have a few days before I'll receive the order to retreat, and another few days leeway before I act on it."

"That is most likely, but that doesn't necessitate that that will be the case."

"…Yes, that's true."

"It's best that you answer their summons immediately; the sooner the better for the sake of our efforts." The commanding tone that now laced his voice made it clear that he was speaking as her superior and not as her cousin. "I know that you are neither ignorant nor incompetent, but all the same I think it best to remind you to take every precaution possible."

"I know."

"How will you drink?"

"Of that much I'm not quite sure yet, but I'll figure something out."

"Mmh. I suggest that you approach Hanji on that matter as well; Chemistry might help. Good luck."

"Thank you; I'll go and speak to her about communication arrangements in the morning."

Her cousin nodded. "Good. I expect you to be smart about this; no paper trail, no trace. Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"If that's the case, all that I have left to say to you is good night. I have kept both Eren-at home-and Gunther-outside in the care-waiting for long enough and I doubt that I can stay on my feet for much longer." His exit was quick after that, the front door falling firmly shut behind him. And just like that Mikasa was left alone sitting on her couch.

_Well, if that wasn't a Blitzkrieg visit I don't know what it is._ She thought with a sigh, looking down once again at the tiny vial filled to the brim with liquid ruby. _An old tradition. Reminder of the pride within a clan._ Was she proud to be an Ackerman? A half blood? Most in her place wouldn't be, but in recent weeks she'd come to terms with what she really was and had begun to realize that being half of both Human and Vampire didn't make her any less than a Pure Blood. If anything, it made her more. And Rivaille, despite his betrayals and the evil actions in his past, had done all that he could to make amends. _Pride. Ackerman pride._ The glass was cold as it fell to rest against her skin just below the neck of her shirt. Gathering up the hairclip and replacing it in its package she carried it with her into her bedroom; she'd end up spending most of the next day packing but for now what she needed most was a few long hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Jean had hung around the city for another three hours checking things out before calling in and heading back. The barracks were beginning to settle in for the night and he had hoped to be able to slip up to the commander's office unseen, but much to his displeasure that wasn't to be; Annie swooped down on him from out of nowhere with murder in her eyes and the next thing he knew he'd been backed into a corner.

"Where the _hell_ have you been all night?" she demanded furiously. "You disappeared immediately after lunch none of us had any idea where you'd gone; looking on the board we found out that you hadn't been sent on any sort of job. We thought that you had jumped ship too!"

"That's ridiculous, I'm no traitor!" He snapped back, trying to force his way passed her only to have her grab him by the arm in a vice like grip with her long nails digging into his flesh through the fabric of his uniform jacket. "Annie!"

"If you're not a traitor, Jean, then you won't mind explaining all of this away now will you?" She hissed, plucking the long black hair that had gotten caught on his shoulder out of the grasp of his uniform. "Funny, isn't it, that this hair looks like it came from Mikasa!"

"It's not as if she's the only woman in the world who has black hair, you know." He replied coolly. "You're really starting to become obsessed with all of this, you know that don't you?"

"Of _course_ I'm 'obsessed', this is a matter of our safety! First her brother, now her; whose next? Armin? Marco? You? It's been near a year since she's left and nothing has happened with the Legion; I don't like it!" Her sharp eyes narrowed. "And what, exactly, is _that!"_

She snatched at the envelope in his hand but he broke free of her grip and stepped out of reach. "The contents of this are for the Commander's eyes only. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've a meeting to attend with our superior officer." He left her there and hurried down the hallway; once safely inside of the office Jean let out a sigh of relief. "I apologize for barging in, sir, but I have new evidence for your review." Without speaking the commander motioned him over to his desk and took the envelope, opening it quickly and pouring out the contents. Pictures spilled out, some of the greatest monuments in the entire world spreading across the desk top. He sorted through them quickly, casting aside Castle Park, the Great Pyramids, the Forbidden City and the Taj Mahal before stopping on a picture of Pompeii.

"This confirms it, then. They were in Italy."

Had something happened? "Uh…Sir? Does something about that picture call for concern?"

"Indeed it does." He replied grimly. "This picture provides the evidence that we need to prove the Wings of Freedom are responsible for the break in in the library of Vatican City; the blue prints were stolen. Dok fears that our capital will be their next target, and in order to prevent that the 104th will be setting out to reinforce their defenses the moment that Ackerman returns. The rest of us will remain behind to hold off the Military Police."

"I informed her of the impending extraction order; should I get into contact with her again to expedite it?"

"That won't be necessary; they'll be contacting her soon enough. Continue working with the others to make the necessary preparations; no matter what happens the Vatican must be protected."


	32. Devil in the Details

The window of the attic room which had been adapted upon their moving there from a storage space into a training gym was fogged with a thin silver layer of condensation against the cool air of the early morning outside; it was still dark with only the faintest glimmer of grey along the line of the horizon to hint at the continued existence of the sun, no birds or insects yet awake to chirp or buzz. The heavy drums and guitar flooding through the speakers bounced about in the container of the room, unable to escape through the sound proof walls. Sweat dripped down from his hair pasting the ragged dark brown bangs to his forehead, running down along the frame of his chiseled chest and roughhewn back and leaving dark stains on the leather bracers that he wore, the molten silver blade of the sword flashing like the scales of a predatory fish veiled in dark water. His breaths flowed in ragged yet somehow even pants as he assailed the assembled dummy with all that he was worth, stressing himself again and again to his limits until the weapon became an extension of himself which he could manipulate to full potential without a second thought. It felt exhilarating, unbelievably fulfilling, to be training again. Preparing his body for the inevitable climax of blood and fire which would mark the beginning of a new era and happy future, and so when the weapon finally fell to the wooden floor with a resounding clank and he dropped into a crouch with teeth gritted and muscles burning as if aflame he accepted the pain wholly and completely without complaint. He didn't hear the door swing open or notice the presence of the other in the room until the music suddenly clicked off and a shadow fell over him.

"It's three in the morning, Mon Cheri. What are you doing up at this hour, launching into a full training regimen?"

"We've been away for 10 months, almost a year." The brunet replied, blinking the sweat out of his eyes. "We can't afford to waste any more time getting back up to speed."

"Aimee, you ranked #5 in the hunter's elite regiment. I doubt that you have _lost_ speed." The raven countered quickly. "I understand the way that you feel, but killing yourself over this isn't necessary. You're exhausting yourself over nothing."

"If nothing else it helps to reduce how worried I am over everything that could go wrong; people getting hurt or killed. My sister, one of the kids, or-God forbid-you." His green eyes fell to the floor. "I don't like the thought that I might not be strong enough to protect the ones that I love."

"In the end it isn't strength that makes a difference. Tyrants are strong, but in the end they fall. It may take a very, very long time but in the end they always do without fail. You need to rest; we both do." Despite his hair being soaked through with sweat Rivaille didn't hesitate to reach up and brush the bangs away from his young husband's face. "Go and wait in the sitting room; I'll run a bath for you so that you're clean when you come back to bed." Eren flashed a small smile and have a tired nod, allowing his partner to help him back onto his feet before making his way to the sitting room on the floor below. Now that he was sitting the sleep that had formerly been making a game of eluding him came creeping back up, tearing into his limbs and dragging him down; his eyelids felt coated in lead as his head dropped onto his chest. The cool fingers sliding underneath his chin brought him back to relative awareness to find the raven once again standing in front of him. "Let's get you in that tub and washed before you pass out, shall we?" The brunet stumbled slightly and dragged his feet two rooms over to the bathroom. Setting a folded towel down on the toilet, Rivaille turned back to him. "Come here, brat; did you suddenly develop Aquaphobia or something?"

"No, I was just…are you planning on staying in here?" Eren asked him.

"Bashful?"

"N-No! Of course not; we've both seen everything before!"

"Then why are you blushing?"

His face immediately turned from pale pink to deep crimson. "I-I'm _not_ blushing!"

Rivaille just chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, I'm planning on staying in here because, with how tired you are, I wouldn't put it passed you to pass out in the water and drown. And I don't want that to happen."

"So that's your excuse, is it?"

"Excuse?" he repeated, soft hands gently pulling the brunet's shirt over his head. "What do you mean?"

"Are you actually trying to tell me that you're _not_ getting in the tub with me?"

"I do hate to disappoint, but not this time; a show would fit us both but this tiny tub is much too small for two. Besides, that would do nothing for either getting you clean nor resting." Rivaille pointed out as Eren wiggled out of his jeans with a small frown and got into the tub.

"Suit yourself."

He retrieved the shampoo bottle rather than responding he poured some onto Eren's head. "One good thing about your hair being this soaked with sweat is that I don't have to worry about dunking you first." Deft fingers carded through wet, soapy locks whipping up light fluffy suds and making a particular point to scrub generously behind his ears.

"You don't have to shampoo me, you know."

"I wasn't aware that you were so opposed to pampering, Jӓger."

"I'm not, but I also don't like being an inconvenience."

"Even when you're being difficult, which is rarely these days, you're anything but." Resting one hand gently on the back of his neck, Rivaille gently instructed "tip your head back." When Eren complied with a small sigh, the raven gently cleared the soap from the chocolate tresses before helping his sit up again and kissing him on the cheek. "There. Now you won't be sticky in the morning…well, later in the morning. Ready for bed?"

"Yes, very much so." He replied, gratefully accepting the clean towel that the other handed him and drying off before heading into the bedroom and pulling on a pair of cotton sleeping pants. "I know that you were up to something while we were in Italy, but I didn't want to ask about it at the time because focusing on the war on our honeymoon would have defeated the point of it all, but now that we're back would you mind telling me?"

"Despite having left the Military Police I still maintain quite a few…seedy contacts. I used one of them to get my hands on some vital documents; you'll find out what they are later on today when we meet with Erwin. Go to sleep, brat."

He could tell that the vague answer had left the former hunter unsatisfied, but he was tired enough by that point that protesting didn't even cross his mind; tucking his head tightly beneath the raven's chin, he closed his eyes and drifted quickly into a peaceful sleep. The minutes slowly ticked by, the glowing green numbers on the alarm clock climbing and then falling again as the sky lightened outside. Rivaille was inclined to allow sleeping beauty to keep dreaming as long as he wished to, and it wasn't until almost noon that Eren finally stirred and sat up.

"Morning," he yawned, hair sticking up in all directions whipped into even more of a rat's nest than usual considering it had been slept on wet.

"Afternoon, actually." He snorted, indicating the clock.

"Oh, so it is." Green eyes turned to him questioningly. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier; don't we have to meet with Erwin?"

"Later; we have enough time to eat and get ready so long as we don't waste a moment." Rivaille replied, getting up and crossing the room to the closet where he pulled down both of their uniforms. "Brush your hair, brat. It looks like you've got a bird nesting up there!"

"Yes, sir." Rolling his eyes he jumped out of bed and went to the bathroom to attack his hair with a brush as instructed; it wasn't long until he had company."

"Finally up, are we?"

Glancing into the mirror he was confronted with a familiar smirking face. "Asher, where were you yesterday? I didn't see you when we got back."

The younger teen shrugged. "Just out with the others, running scenarios and blowing off some steam."

He smiled. "Most 12 year old trainees wouldn't have that amount of initiative without an instructor around."

"Well, that might be because I'm 13 now."

"Oh, that's right! The 14th of January?" he nodded. "Is there anything that you want?"

"We'll worry about that after the war is over." Asher told him. "It won't be that much longer, right?"

"Before the next new year, if all goes right." Eren said, deeming his hair passable and putting the brush down on top of the counter. "Levi has something planned but I'm not entirely sure what it is yet. We have meeting with Erwin soon and it's then that I should find put the details of it."

"But we know that our target will be the Hunters?"

"Yes; nothing has changed since our original plans were made. As such, we'll still be operating under the assumption that the Order's aid-either willing or forced-will be gained before we move on to the Military Police." Turning out the light, Eren left the bathroom and returned to the master bedroom with Asher on his heels. "Going off of the fact that he has told me he has gotten into contact with a few old…friends in order to get a hold of some sort of important documents I know that our next move will be somewhere in Europe but I'm not sure where or what."

"Getting warmer brat, but you've still got a ways to go." Rivaille informed him. "Get dressed; we have twenty minutes to eat and go if we're going to make it on time."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Eren snickered, fumbling through the dresser drawer in search of a shirt. "We'll talk more later, alright Asher?"

"Sure thing, big bro. But just one more thing, may we go to Hanji's and use the simulator for training?"

Rivaille nodded, answering before Eren could. "Of course; by now you ought to realize that permission isn't needed concerning matters of training. However I want you to wait a few hours before you do; Mikasa spoke to me last night and brought it to my attention that an extraction order will soon be sent out. I want to make sure that she has ample time to consult with Hanji on the magic that will be needed to keep covertly in contact with us."

"Yes, Sir. We'll wait until later in the afternoon, then."

"Good." He said. "Jӓger, while you figure what color socks you want to wear I'll go and make you some toast. Do you want tea, juice or milk?"

"Juice; apple, if we have it." Eren called after as the others retreating form vanished down the stairs. Grabbing the jacket of his uniform off of the bed, he ran down the hall as well. "I'll see you later, Asher!" Rivaille passed him the bottle of juice the moment he made it into the kitchen and the toast as well once it popped up from the toaster. Stuffing one corner of the well toasted bread into his mouth Eren forced his feet into his shoes and hurried out the front door after Rivaille to join his husband on the driveway outside.

She was up at around six in the morning and spent a good few hours-until around 10:30-packing and then another hour or so after that determining how it would be best to re-approach her regiment after so long away and finally made it over to Hanji's at around noon. She had assumed that Rivaille's general dislike of the crazy woman's hyperactive tendencies was the reason why her cousin tended to avoid coming within three city blocks of the place if were in his power to do so, but upon getting her fest look at the place she realized the truth that that wasn't the case, at least not entirely. The walkway was made of the same concrete that the sidewalk was, cracked uneven and branching off of public walking space across the scruffy grass of the uncut lawn spanning before the house. The porch was wood, built up a few feet off of the ground by thin poles standing haphazardly and at different angles, the stairs tilted and boards rotted out. The house itself was lopsided, the roof shedding its tiles in large splotches and with vines growing up over what few portions of the siding which wasn't peeling off the house in sheets. A majority of the windows were broken, and the front door was covered in a layer of peeling white paint. Needless to say, even discounting its occupant the location itself would have been the bane of his all but uncontrollable OCD. Even she herself was a bit hesitant to approach the structure further with how close the roof appeared to collapse. Careful footsteps saw her safely onto the loudly creaking porch and a soft knock was answered almost immediately, and much to her relief, by Moblit.

"Oh, Ms. Ackerman. We were beginning to wonder when it was that you would come to visit us." He said, allowing her in before shutting the door. "Ms. Hanji is waiting for you in the basement."

"Thank you, Moblit." Walking passed her and further into the house, she found her way down to the basement with only a small amount of trouble to find Hanji once again in her lab coat and goggles swirling a flask of chemicals in one hand and adjusting the flame on a bunsen burner with the other. "Hanji."

"Eh?" glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of the younger woman and smiled widely. "Oh, _there_ you are Mikasa! Rivaille told me to be ready for you to show up, but I wasn't sure when you would. _Mike_!" Her other assistant came running over from the other side of the lab. "Be a dear and finish things up for me, would you?"

"Oh course, Ms. Zoe."

"Right this way, dear. I've prepared something that's fairly basic but has a wide array of utilitarian uses and, with your Japanese background, should be at least somewhat familiar." She told her as she led the way over to another nearby table. "You have heard the term Shikigami before, right?"

Paper familiars of the practitioners of witch craft? "Vaguely."

"They're very simple to make as long as you're able to work a pair of scissors. All you need to make one are these." She motioned to the three items which had been set out. "Rice paper, charcoal and volcanic salt; I'll be sure to give you more than enough to last for the entirety of your time with the Hunters and I'll also teach you the best way to hide it. How you'd make one is just so; cut out whatever shape that you desire: I find this one to be the most effective," said as she cut one of the thin sheets of rice paper into a shape vaguely reminiscent of a humanoid figure, "and then mix the salt and charcoal and use them to make a summoning circle for the spirit, demon, whatever you want to call it that will inhabit the doll. And with a little bit of fairly basic magic, Walla!" A flash of light and the faint scent of sulfur filled the air as the little paper figurine righted itself on the table. "This is technically Black Magic so under normal circumstance Erwin wouldn't approve of doing this, but with conflict looming the way it is we really don't have much other choice. And how useful these little guys are outweighs most of the…shall we call them moral issues?" a split second later her usual smile was back in place. "They can serve as messengers, can fetch small objects, can cause general mischief and can even be used to possess humans and animals; with these you can turn other Hunters into puppets for a few hours at a time in order to avoid drawing attention to yourself or divert suspicion away. But that isn't to say that these are entirely without trace. As I'm sure that you can imagine, the charcoal mixture," when she brushed the standing powder away a black ring was still imprinted on the wood, "stains."

"I'll have to try my best to only use it in isolated areas, then." Mikasa determined. "The rice paper will be easy to hide and simple enough to explain away if need be. I assume you've a method for me to hide the other ingredients as well. And blood, perhaps?"

"Yes, yes of course! Rivaille has talked to me about that as well. First off, I had to come up with some method to conceal the charcoal and salt in a way that wasn't suspicion so I made you a calligraphy set. Dry the ink out and the salt and charcoal will separate; about five minutes under your standard desk lamp will do the job. As for the blood," Hanji opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a bottle of what looked like vitamins. "Dissolve these in water; it's artificial and tastes awful but it will do the job. I'll have both sent over to you before you leave; do you know when they'll send the order to pull back?"

"Late tonight or early tomorrow morning I'd say would be most likely. Though one can never really be sure and it could come sooner." The raven-haired woman replied with a sigh. "But I have already packed everything up and am ready to leave whenever I am called to do so. Though I have to say that I'm not entirely sure how the others will react to my sudden return; Jean knows that I was sent in undercover, but the others think I bailed."

"If I've learned anything from Rivaille it's that the Ackerman line is ready for anything at any time; you're his cousin, you'll be fine. And even if they do suspect something and start a fight, you're stronger than all of them aren't you?"

"I'd like to think so, but that doesn't mean I can take them all on at once on my own. Even as a half blood." She drawled. "Though you're not the first to give me that vote of confidence; my dear cousin beat you to it."

"All the more reason you should believe you can pull this off without a hitch. We both know that Shorty doesn't say things he doesn't mean."

"While that is true I find pessimism to be one's most useful tool in situations like this one; keeps you from doing something stupid." The ravenette sighed again as an enormous boom and the sound of breaking glass rang out from behind them. "If that is all, I'll leave you to your work."

"Yes, I think that is all at least with as far as I can recall at the moment. Hopefully we'll see each other again before the end of the war!" She promptly rushed back across the room to assess whatever damage her techs had caused, leaving her company to find her own way out of the lab.

_Now I understand why he avoids her like the plague._ She thought with a small shake of her head. _Somethings never change._

This time their walk down the street saw them to the blonde's home rather than the mad scientist's haunted mansion; the lawn was well groomed, the house-good sized but smaller than theirs-paneled in white and pale blue with shudders drawn closed against the frigid air. Coming up the well maintained walkway and onto the porch, they were answered almost immediately on walking.

"Good afternoon to the both of you, Rivaille, Eren."

"Eyebrows," the raven answered almost playfully, stepping passed him into the house without waiting to be invited.

"Hello," his brunet companion's answer was much more reserved as he waited for their host to allow them inside rather than following his companion's example and barging in.

"Hello," he answered with a friendly smile as he closed the door behind him. "So we're meeting here rather than the Flügel?"

"Too crowded; now that I'd rather avoid our forces knowing that we're planning. It's just better not to deal with all of their stupid pointless questions quite yet." The raven replied as he continued into the kitchen. "Do you have any tea on you? I'll make us some."

"As a matter of fact, I do." His blue eyes turned to the other as he added "just for these such occasions."

They found him already in the kitchen standing on a chair in order to reach the top shelf of the cabinet on which the white tea pot sat. "I hope that you and your big ass eyebrows find this amusing," he quipped, finally managing to grab hold of the pot and pull it down. "I know that you did that on purpose!"

"Because I would most definitely waste my time in the middle of a war conspiring to deprive my friend and ally of tea by putting the only tea pot in my house too high off of the ground for him to reach." Erwin drawled. "We have already established that I expected the meeting to be at the Flügel; I didn't even know that you were coming over."

"So you say." Flipping on the faucet, he pulled off the lid and filled the pot with water before setting it on the stove. "Where do you put the tea leaves in this house?"

"I have tea bags."

"Gah! You uncultured bastard, that's the worst shit on the market!" But he made for the pantry anyway. "Let me guess, the box is also on the top shelf!"

"Actually, it's on the shelf that's attached to the door."

"So it is." Inspecting the shelf for a moment, the raven haired male pulled free two boxes. "Brat, Earl Grey or," turning the second box around to inspect the label he demanded "what the fuck kind of tea is 'butterfly'?"

"It's green tea."

"I'm good with my apple juice," the brunet replied quickly, holding up the barely touched bottle in his hands. "So choose whichever one sounds better to you."

""Earl Grey, then." Pulling out the bags he set them in the pot to steep before replacing the two boxes in the pantry. A few minutes passed before Rivaille poured himself a cup and then looked expectantly at the other. "Well?"

"I'm good, thank you."

"That isn't what I meant, Eyebrows. Are we going to have this conversation in your kitchen, or is there somewhere that we can sit?"

The blonde looked over at the brunet, who was silently apologizing for the other's poor behavior, before sighing. "The sitting room is this way." Down a small hallway and to the right lay a small but fairly cozy room with an armchair and a pair of couches all crowded around a little table. Erwin seated himself in the armchair while the other two took contiguous seats on one of the two couches.

"You said that you had gotten a hold of some 'sensitive documents' but refused to say more over the phone," he said while the other's piercing grey eyes steadily observed him over the top of his steaming cup of low quality tea. "Let's see them; we're here in my house away from prying eyes, both friendly and otherwise. It's time the pair of you divulged."

"Pair of us?" he repeated with a snort. "Even the brat doesn't know, I didn't want to…distract him at the time. And it isn't as if I did any of it myself."

Erwin stared at him for a moment in surprise as he calmly sipped his tea. "You used Pure Bloods? Rivaille, you could have given everything away! What if they'd reported you to your Uncle?"

"They wouldn't have; you ought to be aware by now that not all of the Pure Bloods in the world are loyal to the Military Police. As a matter of fact, a great number of my people would much rather be out for their own interests rather than bothering with politics. And none of them are fans of his."

"Criminals." The blonde concluded, expression darkening a margin.

"In a word." The raven conceded. "I have not always been 'one of the good guys' as they say, but I have always been a shrewd manipulative and cunning son of a bitch; over the years I've amassed a number of favors from my European brothers. Now seems a good time to cash most of them in."

"And getting ahold of these documents for you was a way for this person in particular to square away their debts?"

"A portion of them, yes. I will be able to call on his help again, and I fully intend to do so. But that will come later, let us focus on planning shall we?" Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a handful of very old drafting papers and tossed them onto the table, where they popped open to reveal various hand drawn renditions of buildings. Erwin's eyes went wide immediately and he leaned forward on the edge of his seat.

"Are these what I think they are?"

"Yes, if what you think they are is the blue prints to Vatican City." He replied tartly. "Every copy, from the original to the most recent. Every change that the Order has made up to five years ago is recorded for our reference. With these, we'll be able to formulate our best course of action."

"You've already begun to come up with a plan, haven't you?" this time it was Eren who spoke. "That was the real reason we took the risk to visit Italy; you were scouting."

He nodded. "It couldn't be _all_ play, brat. No matter how much I wished otherwise."

"Let's hear it then, Rivaille."

"There's a map in here somewhere," the raven muttered quietly to himself as he shuffled through the pages of loose documents before finding the one that he wanted and spreading it out on the table top. Producing a ball point pen from thin air, he clicked it open and circled a seemingly unmarked portion of the map. "This is approximately where the Roman city of Pompeii; it's a tourist hub, but large portions have been cordoned off to the public after being deemed too dangerous. This is one city that they will never suspect, making it an ideal place to set up operations. It's about 150 miles outside of modern day Rome, but with the extensive magics at our disposal travel shouldn't be a problem. Of course another option would be Latina, which is much closer to Rome but this makes it more risky."

"We'll go along with Pompeii unless the city proves unfit once we've arrived there." Erwin said. "I agree that taking the risk with Latina isn't a wise thing to do unless we have no other choice."

"I've never been stationed at the Vatican-none of the members of the regiment have-so I'm not entirely sure how their security measures work, but I do know that there will be some manner of wards and that they will fight fiercely to the end; retreat won't be something that they consider this time around." Eren pointed out. "We won't be able to take them in one or even two clashes even with the element of surprise at our disposal, even with my sister on the inside. This won't be a hostile takeover, it will be a siege; we'll have to be prepared for a long term engagement with no break from combat."

"Believe me brat, we know." Rivaille assured him. "The hardest, longest battle of this war and it won't even be against my Uncle or even the members of the M.P. Go figure."

"I would assume that you'll be calling on these 'nomadic' Pures for help?" Erwin asked.

"Yes, I'll be cashing in all of my favors at once. And I assume that you'll be doing your utmost to sway the European Turned to our cause as well."

"Of course."

"So we won't all be going to Italy at once, then?" Eren inquired.

"No, not at once. The three of us will go first; you'll watch over the preparation of our operations and keep in contact with Mikasa while Eyebrows and I travel the Union to trade in those favors and rally our cause. But we'll have to act fast to go undetected; the rest will be over within a month and we'll start our attack on the Spring Equinox: March 20th."

"So we have our back bone down. Now for the details."

"Yes, the details." Rivaille mused almost absently, taking another sip of tea. "Where the devil resides."

With everything that she could possibly do to prepare for departure done and the rigged calligraphy set which she'd been sent packed away, by the time that evening came around Mikasa had dissolved into staring at the opposite wall as she sat on the couch waiting for the phone to ring without paying even a single glance at whatever program was playing on the TV. It was the rather unexpected knock on her front door that disturbed her half-daze; getting up to answer it she found him buried in a parka on the other side.

"Eren?" at least that's who she thought it was; with all of the winter clothing concealing his features from view it could have just as easily been a polar bear. Stepping aside to allow him in she watched as he quickly stripped himself of the coat, hat and gloves to reveal her first hypothesis to be correct that it was in fact her brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Do I have to have a reason to visit my sister?" now that she's not trying to kill me. But that last bit was left unspoken as his strong arms wound around her and she quickly returned her sibling's embrace. "I heard from Levi that you're leaving soon, so I wanted to come and see you before you did." He explained, stepping back. "I would have come earlier but I got stuck in a planning trap for the upcoming theater. How have you been these past few months? Asher and the others weren't too much of a handful, I hope."

"Not terribly so, after the first few days." She told him as they moved to the den. "Actually, I'm glad you came by; I finished packing hours ago and have been doing nothing but-Eren, what's wrong?" she asked, having turned around to find him staring at the TV with a somewhat confused expression.

"Oh, uh, nothing I was just wondering how long you've been in the market for a Chia Pet."

"I haven't exactly been paying much attention to what's on." She replied, picking up the remote and changing the channel from the infomercial to the nearest news channel. "Does a week go by where the Flügel _isn't _in the local news?"

"You tell me, I don't watch the news." He said, flopping down on the couch. "Do you know when you're leaving?"

"No, I haven't gotten the-" She was interrupted mid-sentence by a shrill ring "phone call yet. Excuse me." He nodded in reply as she ran out of the room to answer her phone. Her brother made sure to remain entirely silent the entire time in order to not give his presence away to the Hunter on the other end and when she finally hung up spoke again.

"Was that the Order to pull you out?" she nodded. "When?"

"Now; I have to meet the rest of them at the airport in Rose to catch a plane but I don't know how I'll make it in time."

"Funny, your cousin gave me something that might help you; sometimes, I could swear that he's psychic or something." Eren pulled two objects out of his pocket and handed them over; one closely resembled a passport and the other was a dark blue stone approximately the size of a large marble. "Homing stone; envision the airport and-poof-you're there in no time flat! This thing here means you own a private jet or something; it lets you skip customs. Are you wearing your uniform to the airport?"

"I plan on using it to make a point." She told him, again walking out of the room to grab her bag. "Even with the travel time cut down I should still set out as soon as possible so that I won't be overly late."

"Good luck, and try to be careful."

"Says the 'Suicidal Psychopath'."

"That's me, but we're talking about you."

"I'll be fine. We're going to win this game; we don't have any other option."

"Keep in touch."

She rolled her eyes. "I will; I have to." He watched as she walked out of the door with the bag in tow, leaving him alone in the apartment.

_I really hope that this plan works._ Turing off the TV and switching out the lights, he turned his back on the apartment and followed her out.


	33. Split Coin

"This may well be a private jet but that doesn't mean we have an eternity to sit around in these hard ass airport seats! Everyone is here, Horseface! What are we waiting for?"

As usual Marco was the first one to step up to the plate when it came to smoothing things over within their ranks. "Ymir, please." He pleaded quietly. "There must be some good reason for this?"

"Oh, really?" she quipped back. "Then why hasn't he spilled it yet?"

"I already told you that we are waiting for someone; this is on the direct order of the Commander so if you don't like it complain to him instead of shooting the messenger!" Pulling out his cellphone for what felt like the hundredth time in the past five minutes he glanced once more at the time before hitting a number on speed dial. "Where are you?"

"Behind you," Mikasa drawled, walking over towards them with a carryon bag over one arm. "Sorry; customs wasn't cooperative. They weren't very happy that I couldn't read the pass that I stole from Rivaille since the damn thing is written in French. We're leaving?"

_"_What the_ hell _are you doing here you traitor bitch_!"_ Ymir tried to leap to her feet and lunge at her but Marco and Reiner reacted quickly enough to hold her back. Ignoring her outburst, the ravenette peeled off the jacket of the uniform that she still had on with a look of marked distaste and proceeded to drop it unceremoniously into the nearest trashcan.

"I didn't get a chance to change before I left." Was what she offered as explination before returning her eyes to Jean. "I was informed over the phone that we're flying in to Italy to help protect the Vatican? Why?"

"Our superiors have reason to believe that Rivaille is responsible for the recent disappearance of the blue prints to Vatican City and are afraid that the Legion plans to make a move on our capitol at some point in the near future. Anything that you've heard about?"

She shook her head. "I never heard anything like that, but it wasn't as if they were much inclined to let me in on their planning. Rivaille was a fucking ice sculpture and even Eren was giving me the cold shoulder."

"Do you think that they suspected you?"

"Me particularly? No. But he's paranoid; sees every shadow as holding the potential to conceal the forces of the enemy. He did everything but booby trap the doors with napalm and explosives when they had their little 'meetings'. Even his so called friends weren't allowed inside. Sometimes he even locked my brother out."

"Did you finish?"

"Unfortunately no. I never got a chance to do the deed in a way that would have allowed me to pin it on Smith's forces."

"Our superiors won't be happy to hear that."

"I know, but there isn't much that we can do to rectify that at the moment. Let's focus on this for the time being."

"_Will someone please tell me what is going on here?_" Connie shouted, no longer able to keep quiet while the others continued to stare dumbstruck and slack jawed at the pair. "It's been almost a whole year since you betrayed us for the Legion. Why would you come back now? Why aren't you attacking us? Have you been conspiring with her this entire time, Jean?"

"They weren't conspiring." Armin interrupted before the other could answer. "You were her handler; they sent her into the Legion undercover to try and assassinate him and pin the death on Erwin so that he and Rivaille would fight! You never abandoned us, did you?"

She shook her head. "Of course not! But I couldn't contact any of you aside from Jean without going against my orders."

"If that's the case than what the hell took you so damn long?" all eyes turned to Annie as she glared at the ravenette from her seat nearby with narrowed eyes. "You're #1 in our class, your brother was #5. That's a 4 rank gap, more than enough to make it child's play for you to win in a fight against him. So why did it take almost twelve months, and why didn't you succeed?"

"The ostentatious 10 month honey moon: yep, Eren is now the happily married Mr. Ackerman-Yeager everybody!" Jean announced bitterly. "She couldn't go chasing them into Europe without arising suspicion. Evidence of their trip that she provided of their many destinations is what led to the conclusion that they are indeed the ones responsible for the theft of the blueprints."

"The two months before they left was still more than enough; why isn't he dead?"

"Because my orders, as Armin said, weren't just to kill my brother but to do so in a manner that would frame the Turned for the crime and start an internal blood bath." She explained calmly. "I never got the chance to do that. Plenty of chances were had to put Eren down like the rapid dog he's been reduced to, but none to shift the blame. Now, if all of you are quite finished with questioning the legitimacy of my intentions shall we board the plane? I think we've all wasted more than enough time."

"She's right," Marco piped up as he got up to join the other two who were already on their feet. "What she did was sanctioned under the commander's orders, not treason. We can't afford an internal struggle at the moment so we should really just let this go."

The cold-eyed blonde made no comment but gathered her things and headed towards the plane with the rest of the group following behind. It was in the airport terminal that the divide first appeared-the majority of their group walking with Annie towards the front, glancing back with shifty eyes while Marco Jean and Armin hung behind with Mikasa pestering her for further details on her time in the Legion-and it remained even after getting onto the plane, the seats in the middle left as a vacant void between the two parties that had formed at the front and back. The plane had taxied down the runway and risen into the air before Annie finally spoke again. "I don't trust her, and if all of you have any sense at all than you won't either."

"A-Annie's right!" Sasha piped up while trembling slightly. "I'd bet a week's worth of desert on it! Jean would have you believe that I misheard the conversation that she had with that Vampire monster in the garden but I know that I didn't! They were talking about her family; he said that her father came to him for help, that he's the one who turned him in for some crime, and refered to her as if they were related. Called her…something in French and the tone in his voice sounded like affection. I know what I heard and I think that it may be more than just coincidence that her last name is Ackerman!"

"We don't even have to bother diving into speculation, we already have an example of how easily Rivaille can poison minds." Krista pointed out. "Remember what happened to Eren when he was sent in undercover and went missing for months?"

"But unlike with Rogue's actions we don't have any credible prove-able evidence against her; hell, we don't even have a crime yet!" Reiner pointed out as he folded his arms over his chest. "Everything we do have is circumstantial, not to mention that she'll be a lot harder to flip out than her brother was; she's more subtle and has a much cooler head."

"For now I say we keep an eye out, and not just on her either." Ymir said flatly. "On all four of them; if Jean was her handler we have no way of knowing if he was flipped as well. And Marco's contact with Jean, and Armin's contact with Marco-not to mention his past with both Mikasa and Eren-could have led to the Legion's influence spreading like a virus. For all we know, we could already have a large scale infestation of Leech Lovers on our hands."

Berthold glanced back at the four sitting at the other end of the plane nervously, beginning to sweat. "What are you suggesting that we do, then? Let our superiors in on our concerns?"

"That probably isn't the best course of action," Krista piped up again from her seat beside the scowling brunet. "Not only would it likely tip them off as to our suspicions, but if we're wrong we wouldn't want to risk their reputations as Hunters. At least, not yet. Not while the situation can otherwise be contained."

"We'll quarantine them; Krista is right in saying that at least for the moment involving our superiors isn't entirely wise." Annie told them. "We make sure that none of the four of them are ever alone, or alone _together_; at least one of us will always be with them whenever possible. Especially if one of them leaves Vatican city."

"Now that we've come to the conclusion of not allowing them to be alone together, who's going to go up and sit with them for a minute or two to see what the hell they're talking about?"

"I'll do it," Krista immediately volunteered. "Let's face it guys, I'm the only one of us who is outgoing enough to approach them in the middle of a conversation and calm enough not to give something away. If we sent Connie Jean will get annoyed and kick him out and if we send Sasha she might get…distracted."

"It's true." The brunet sighed. "I'm too hungry right now to pay much attention to anything right now."

"When the hell is that not the case?" Ymir groused as the little blonde left her seat and advanced towards the back of the plane. The little group of four seemed engrossed in a conversation-at least Jean Marco and Armin were trying to encourage Mikasa that everything would soon return to normal as the ravenette stared mutely out the window at the passing clouds.

"Hey guys," she smiled to hide her mounting nervousness as four pairs of eyes immediately swiveled over to face her. "May I join you?"

"Of course. You don't need to ask permission; you're not intruding." Armin told her, scooting to the left to make room as she sat down.

"I'm really sorry about earlier, but we thought…I'm sure you understand." The ravenette nodded without answer and went back to staring out the window. "Your hair is longer."

"I wanted a change."

"It looks good."

"I'm cutting it back once I get the chance."

"Oh…well, that looks good too." A noncommittal grunt was received in response; not once since she'd sat down had she really looked at her. "That hairclip is beautiful. Where did you get it?"

A hand rose to her hair to touch the clip, an expression of minor surprise-as if she hadn't realized that she'd been wearing it-spreading across her face and remaining there for a split second before it disappeared. "It was a gift purchased on their travels; it's from Japan."

"Your brother bought it for you?"

"No, my brother in law. I…didn't realize I was wearing it not that it matters who it's from. It's just a hairpiece as far as I am concerned."

"If you don't mind me asking, Mikasa," Marco piped up suddenly, "can I…ask you some questions about Rivaille? I spoke with him for quite a while when he posed as the Headsman and…I really hate to say it but he didn't seem like too bad of a guy."

"Well, he's a suave son of a bitch with a silver plated tongue; of course he came off that way, he was groomed to be a politician! But the minute you piss him off-which is really easy to do-he's all claws and fangs!" She informed him sharply. "But I will say this about him; his love for Eren is real. I've never seen that side of a Vampire before, but…it's difficult to explain."

"What about that Erwin Smith guy?" Jean asked.

She shrugged in answer. "Tall. Blonde. I never really spoke to him."

"And Eren?" Armin inquired hesitantly.

"My brother isn't much different than he was when he left us; Rogue was nothing but an act: a persona built for the purpose of obtaining the sword." She replied. "But he truly believe in this 'Dawning' with a fervor that borders religious! In fact, all of this was his idea."

"It was?"

She nodded. "I spoke to him about it at one point, and he told me the whole story about how the Legion that we know today came about. It started with the discord amongst the Pure Bloods of the Military Police when Rivaille made a bid to force Kenny to step down through the application of political pressure. When that fell through they stole the sword in order to free Erwin from Althalaxx in order to earn the favor of the Legion."

"If their target is the Military Police than why are they so gung-ho about attacking us?"

"They don't want to destroy us. They want to force us into helping them."

"Then why not try diplomacy first? We never know if the higher ups might have heard them! A common enemy often leads to strange bedfellows, at least for a while."

"They weren't looking for just a temporary truce; I've heard their vision. It is an Elysium pieced together from hand-blown glass. An impossible unreality and in an unconscious way I think that they both know it. They're trying to defeat us, to destroy our leadership if not our order itself, to replace it with their own. It is a coup; a throwback to his French heritage: Viva la Resistance!" She informed them with a sigh. "Rivaille wants to make sure that he'll have more than enough numbers at his disposal to overturn the forces of the Pure Bloods in Sina; to make sure that we don't interfere with the gossamer threads of dream that he's woven around Eren or disrupt the haven he's created with the sharpened edge of reality's blade. We'll be sure to grant them a rude awakening, but knowing him the way that I have come to I realize that it will be quite a while before we hear anything from the Legion. Before I left it reached my ears that he has a great many sources in Europe. We've no way of knowing from which direction they'll come."

"Do you miss it at all?" Krista inquired suddenly. "The Legion, I mean?"

"That's….an odd question." Jean commented after a moment or so.

"I'm afraid that I don't have an answer to that. At least, not one that I myself can say that I understand." Mikasa replied slowly. "It was…certainly easier. To put on a mask. To assume a character. To follow the bleakness concealed beneath empty promise of a better world. But that is the way of Evil, I suppose; it's allure lies entirely in it being easier."

"I suppose that's true," she said uncomfortably, getting back to her feet. "Well, I'm going to head back to the others now. I guess I'll see you later." With that Krista hurried away.

"Am I the only one who got out of that that the others are a little suspicious of us?" Marco asked as he looked around at the other three. "Do you really think they could consider us traitors?"

"It's a possibility," the blonde replied, apparently unbothered by the fact. "Which isn't entirely unexpected, considering all that's happened. They'll get over it and their suspicions will pass with time."

"I still don't like it; we're allies for God's sake!" Jean growled, maneuvering himself into a more comfortable position in the hard leather seat. "We can't afford to have a split in our ranks; not now of all times! Damn them!"

"Jean, please! Be reasonable!"

"How am I _not _being reasonable!?"

"Marco is right," Mikasa replied calmly, immediately attracting the hard gaze of those amber eyes. "For the moment, the divide between us is something that can fairly easily be fixed; we don't need the hardened ice of hostility to break us further apart."

"What do you say we do then? Wait for them to pull their heads out of their asses and dismiss their baseless paranoia?"

She nodded. "Yes. We don't have much other choice."

The luxury private jet had lifted off the runway about 5 hours after his sister's plane had left out of Rose on an overnight flight bound for Latina Italy. For the past half hour or so Eren had been fiddling rather mindlessly around on some game or another on his laptop before finally getting fed up and tossing it aside.

"Given up, have we?" Rivaille remarked coolly from his seat across from the brunet, a glass of chilled wine in one hand and a copy of _The Beautiful and Damned_ in the other.

"You would too by the fifth time that Foxy fucking clawed your eyes out!" He complained. "Can I get some wine?"

"Go to town brat; it's in the mini fridge." He told him. "Is Eyebrows still asleep?"

"Yeah; he passed out on the couch when we first got on the plane and we've only been in the air for about half an hour. With how late the two of you were up planning last night can you really blame him?" The other hummed a noncommittal response as he got up out of his seat and headed towards the mini fridge behind the jet's fully stocked bar. Pouring himself a generous helping of the chilled violet liquid he returned to his seat. "Have you read anything modern ever?"

Grey-blue eyes swiveled upwards to glance at him over the top of the pages. "This _is _modern literature; as a matter of fact, Fitzgerald is one of the foremost figures in modern literature and a beautiful word smith."

"Modern as in the same age as or younger than me."

"Modern literature, brat, is by definition anything written between 1910 and 1960."

"You get my point!"

Thin lips curled upwards into a slim smile. "Yes, I do. But I enjoy teasing you, Aimee." He replied. "And, to answer your question, no I haven't. The fact is that I have found recent books not to be to my taste; true crime is fairly dull not to mention repetitive, 'romance' reads like a poorly plotted porno, sci-fi is simply ridiculous in its entire concept and fantasy-on top of being written for the demographic of your average teenage girl-is filled with misconstrued rubbish about my own kind. Tell me, Jӓger, do I fucking sparkle?"

"Not so far as I'm aware, but one can never quite be sure." Eren snickered, taking a sip of his drink. "You used to read a lot of poetry back at the manor."

"I still do, but I figured novels would be better served for a trip as long as this one." Rivaille said. "I mean nothing but to speak the truth when I call you relatively uncultured; I'm not saying that you aren't intelligent-you're more advanced than many in the education department and you are hardly guilty of not being street savvy-but I have noticed that you don't read much. Do you enjoy poetry as well, or do you not have an opinion on the matter?"

"I've read…some. In the academy. Because of my friend; he'd always be ranting about something smart or another." Eren sighed. "There was one that I liked more than the others. Something about fire and the apocalypse. Written by some guy named Robert something."

"Robert Frost?" he nodded. "_Some say the world will end in Fire, some say in Ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor Fire. But if I had to perish twice I think I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction Ice is also great. And would suffice. _The title of that poem is _Fire and Ice_."

"Yeah, that one."

"Why did you like it?"

"…Because it was short. And the meaning was sort of obvious, at least to me."

"And what did you take it to mean?" Rivaille slid a bookmark into place and set it aside, now more interested in their current conversation than the written words of the story in his hands.

"That the world will either end with global warming or a new ice age?" the raven immediately shattered into laughter. "Well, what's your explanation than Mr. Ivy League?"

"Poetry can have any number of interpretations that vary dependent on the person; I'm not saying that your explanation is wrong, it's simply…unexpected." He snickered upon recovering himself enough to speak. "I think that that poem is meant to mean that there are two ways in which society as we know it can be destroyed: the fire of misdirected passion and the ice of compliance."

"I like my explanation better." The raven simply rolled his eyes and didn't respond. "So, when we touch down in Latina you'll be staying on the plane?"

He nodded. "Yes; I've left instruction for your sister to get into contact with Enzio, my Italian source. Meanwhile, I'll be heading to London to speak to Gideon-a few favors are owed to me from his Opium trade to drag Rastislov out of the KGB, and Cadice in Paris. Those four their covens and their own sources, in addition to the European Turned that Eyebrows will convince to help us, should bolster our numbers enough to make a long term assault on the Vatican possible. Of course, quid pro quo will determine whether or not any of them stick around to aid with my Uncle as well."

"I may only have your standard high school education but I'm well aware of what that means," the brunet's tone was very serious, his eyes concerned. "They'd expect that helping us would then put us in debt to them. What sort of favors would they then be after?"

"Power, likely. They may well be Paresseux-those who care little for who is at the helm of society as it doesn't much affect them-but not a single one of them is likely to pass up a chance to raise their standings. I intend to set them up as 'figure nobles'; all the standing they desire but none of the influence that the aristocracy holds now in the Military Police. Don't worry over it, brat. We've built up this dream together; I won't allow reality to in any way shatter the Legion's fortress without first consulting you."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Until a week before the Equinox, I think. That should be about the same amount of time that Erwin will need to sway the other Turned. Which means that stewardship of the Legion, as we have discussed, falls to you. Will you be able to handle it?"

He nodded. "Of course; I'll have the others to help me with most of it and what little I do have to do myself is fairly simple and straightforward: scout out Latina for a day or two in case we need to use it as a fallback in the event Pompeii is unusable and then head over on the first available tour bus to open the gate and bring the others over."

"We can only hope that things turn out that easily." Rivaille noted with a small sigh as he reopened the book that he'd been reading. "We should touch down in about 9 hours."

One would think that after almost a year of having to subject himself to the undirected and highly volatile fury of their ruler due to the fact that the new leader of their coven-Kitts-and his so called friend Hitch were both too much cowards to do it themselves the thought of making another report wouldn't phase him any more than would walking down the streets of Mitras, and yet Marlo still was-and was fully confident he always would be-more keen on the idea of locking himself in a room full of hungry lions instead. At least against the giant cats he'd stand a chance. The halls of the enormous Ackerman estate were dark, the widows curtained in thick velvet and walls hung with dusty tapestries dating all the way back to feudal Europe and the Crusades. The fire blazing in the enormous stone hearth of the study only served to make the dismal house even darker still, the sight of the tall figure-cut in black against the blaze's light-sitting in the gigantic wing backed chair doing nothing for his nerves. He stood fidgeting in the doorway for a fraction of a second more, briefly considering backing out and forcing someone else into doing it but Kenny's cold voice stopped him.

"I assume that you have a report you'd like to make and you're not just standing there to test my patience?"

"N-No, Sir! I-I mean, of course! I have a report for you!" He squeaked, a violent trembling taking over his form as he immediately began to sweat. The black figure unfurled itself from the seat, crossing the room to the nearby desk to peruse the papers spread about at its leisure.

"Well then," he hissed, "five me the damn report instead of standing there like the useless little shit we both know you really are!"

"W-Well, with the Hunters constantly attacking us our intelligence measures have naturally been directed more towards the Rose than the Legion. Since their assault and takeover of the city of Maria they went silent and all but dropped off the map. So I thought…maybe we should look in on what they've been up to. I went myself, with Hitch Sir, and we discovered quite a lot."

"Are you going to tell me what the fuck it is or were you expecting a pat on the back first!?" Kenny roared, sending the raven into a panic.

"Yes, Sir! Of course, Sir! The details, right away!" He squeaked, voice shooting up a few octaves out of fear. "The Hunter that your nephew sullied himself with, Eren Jӓger, they've been wed Sir."

"So he's completely forgotten everything I ever taught him about the truth of the world, then? What a fool." He snorted. "I warned that cur time and time again that emotion isn't need. That 'love' makes you weak and that to care for something is to destroy it. I'll see to it that he is reminded of these lessons myself."

"There's more, Sir. And I doubt that it is something you'll be pleased to hear."

"What now?"

"It's…you see, it's about your niece. The halfblood. She…she's alive, Sir. And the Legion found her; they sent her back with the Hunters!"

"Is that meant to surprise me? I know that she escaped us both times because of that wretched boy! But that matters little, every last one of them will be dead soon enough."

"The Legion's leadership has left the country, Sir. They're flying to Europe as we speak." All that Kenny did was laugh. "Sir?"

"So predictable of him. Put watchers on his sources in Italy, Russia, England and France: he'll approach one, if not all, of them given time."

"And are we to stop him?"

"No. For now, allow Rivaille to do as he pleases thinking himself clever. The Rose may be clueless to his intent but I know full well what that worthless little runt is really up to. It won't do anything to change the outcome of this war."

"I'll do that, Sir. That concludes my report."

"Then get out!" That was something he was more than happy to do, shutting the door so quickly in his wake that it almost slammed. Now alone in his office once more, Kenny turned away from the desk again and drew closer to the fire instead, the stark lightning of the flickering flames throwing his sallow features into sharp relief. "Bite and claw all that you like, Rivaille. By all means, rally the disloyal and downtrodden of all the world to your cause and bow the Hunters beneath your will. It won't matter, in the end." A savage smile spread across his face, long canines flashing in the harsh glow. "Because when I take from you want matters most, all the numbers in the world won't save you!"


	34. Mounting Paranoia

"Fooood!" Sasha moaned loudly the moment that they got off the plane on somewhat wobbly legs. "I'm starving."

"How can you possibly be starving?" Jean demanded sharply as they all retrieved their belongings from where they'd been stowed before setting off to go through customs. "You cleaned out the entire pantry of the plane; cookies, peanuts, those weird pretzel things! Not to mention that we left after we all ate dinner!"

"Are you really that surprised?" her calm voice interjected as she brushed as strand of sable hair back behind her ear. "Considering who it is that we're talking about, I'm not."

"She makes a good point there." Reiner admitted with a tired sigh. "Of course, Sasha isn't the only one who could go for some food. Let's stop at one of those convenience store/gift shops on the way out."

"We've got to make it through customs first," Armin pointed out, searching through the front pocket of his back before locating and pulling out his passport; the others immediately did the same at their own semi-jetlagged pace; the only one who seemed relatively unaffected was Mikasa. "That shouldn't take more than 20 minutes; it looks like not many people are around at this hour."

"Let's get this over with, then." Ymir grumbled. "It was bad enough when we went through them in New York. They're not going to pat us down again, are they? It was a little hard explaining my boot knife, and the fact that my bag is full of replacement blades, away."

"Probably not, since we're coming into the country and not going out on a plane. They'll want to check our bags and passports though." Marco reasoned as they reached the customs desk. The bags passed through with little trouble once the Vatican was mentioned despite the array of weapons contained inside. Their passports were all stamped by a very bored looking customs agent and 15 minutes later they were walking out the other side.

"Well, that was definitely better this time." Berthold noted as they all replaced their passports in the various compartments of their bags. "15 minutes instead of 3 hours."

"Can we get food, now?"

"Probably a good idea."

The nearest convenience store in the airport was located just in front of the exit; everyone filed in, buying some sort of snack and a bottled drink. Mikasa ended up with a bottle of water and something vaguely reminiscent of a Twinkie. Fishing another smaller bottle from her things, she removed a small brown pill and dropped it through the neck of the bottle; it immediately started to fizz and turn red.

"What is that? A protein shake or something?" Connie asked her curiously. She gave him an odd look before nodding.

"Something."

"Is it good?"

"Honestly: No."

"Can I try it?"

She sighed but handed the bottle over. "Go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you."

He took one sip and immediately spat it out. "Oh my God, that stuff is _awful_! Like, worse than cough medicine!"

Taking it back with a sigh she replaced the lid. "Yeah, it is. But you get used to it."

"Since when have you taken protein supplements?" Ymir demanded.

"I got into it recently." Finishing the bottle and tossing it into the nearest trashcan she led the way out the door. Outside it was chilly but not cold, the Italian winter nowhere near as harsh as the New England one. Outside a car sat idling on the curb waiting for them, the Rose of the Order emblazoned on its door.

"Oh, would you look at that? They sent us a welcome wagon." Jean noted dryly as the chauffer got out of the car to collect their bags. "How considerate."

"Let's just go; we're all exhausted and have wasted enough time." Annie pushed passed the rest of them and disappeared into the back seat; the others followed quickly, and they were driving down the road not long after. Vatican City was well guarded, the gates opened momentarily for their car to pass before being shut again. Pulling up to the main building they all filed out, leaving their bags behind. One of the guards led them into the small office room where they all got their first glimpse of Nile Dok.

"Welcome, 104th. Your presence here is greatly appreciated, and your skills will be put to good use." He told them.

"With all due respect, Sir," Jean spoke up without hesitation, "wasn't the Vatican content to write the Legion off as an 'isolated disturbance' only 14 months ago?"

"Now that we have a greater scope of their motives, we can see that we were incorrect in assuming that."

"You mean now that they're attacking you."

"Jean, enough!" Mikasa warned, but he ignored her. The older hunter's eyes narrowed.

"If you choose to see it that way, do so. I suppose that there isn't much that we can do to change your mind on the matter and, frankly, it doesn't matter what you think." He replied coldly. "You are soldiers; your function isn't to put in on the politics behind the scenes! You will defend this cause and lay down your lives in the coming fight if need be to see that the Order does not fall to the darkness, as the oath you took requires! Am I clear to all of you?"

"Crystal, Sir. Allow me to apologize on the behalf of my…rather vocal comrade. You must understand the stressors that have been leveraged upon us of recent months, being sandwiched between the forces of the Legion and the Military Police." She spoke up quickly, pulling his attention away from Jean and onto her. "He meant no disrespect."

"You must be Ms. Ackerman?"

"I am, Sir."

"From the unhalted advance of the Legion's forces I gather that you were unable to accomplish the goals of your recent undercover mission?"

"Regrettably, I failed Sir. A majority of my time undercover was spent with the pair of them outside of the country, as evidenced by the theft of the blueprints."

"Failure aside, the knowledge of their force's inner workings will soon undoubtedly come in handy."

"It is my hope that that is the case." Mikasa replied, well aware of the sharp blue gaze on the back of her head but choosing to pay it no mind. "If I might ask, when will the wards around the city be going up?"

"At dawn; we were waiting for your arrival. As you all should know from the academy, once they have gone up only those initiated with the order will be allowed inside; the disgraced name of our sullied brother has been purged from that list. Eren Jӓger will be repelled as firmly as the damned with which he's seen so fit to ally himself. You will all be allowed to come and go freely so long as you do not leave the city of Rome as we've no idea when the fighting will begin. When the battle does commence, we will draw them into the wards and keep them contained for easy destruction. Is this clear to all of you?"

"Understood, Sir."

"If that's the case than all of you are dismissed; one of the guards will show you to your rooms. We expect to see all of you at breakfast later today."

As they left the office the ravenette caught the ash blonde by the wrist and jerked him to a stop. "What were you thinking talking to him like that? What's next, chewing out the Pope?" She demanded, attracting the attention of the others who stopped walking to look on. "No matter what you may think of that pompous bastard, how right you may be or how much we all-myself included at the forefront of that list-may agree with you, you have to hold your tongue provided you don't want to end up tanking your career!"

"These self-serving hypocrites ought to be reminded of the fact that their own interests aren't the only ones that should be considered!" He retorted, pulling himself free and stepping back.

Mikasa just shook her head. "Sometimes you're so much like Eren that I could swear he's still around! I'd suggest that you cool your passions before that conniving bastard gets his claws into you as well!" Turning abruptly on her heel, she stalked away and disappeared down the hallway.

"What…just happened?" Connie asked of no one in particular, staring after their companion in shock while a still fuming Jean just sneered.

"I think that she was trying to warn us not to let our feelings get in the way of what we're doing here; not to let ourselves take their lack of concern for the outside world personally." Armin said. "Look at what happened to Eren, who wore his heart freely on his sleeve. He was easily manipulated because of that."

"Those with the hottest heads always do seem to go first." Ymir noted in a rather uninterested manner as she turned and started walking again. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I am going to bed." Murmurs of agreement as they all followed suit, Annie stopping the other two from proceeding at her own door.

"I hope that it is just as clear to the both of you as it is to me that everything she said tonight-both the Dok and Jean-was nothing more than a show!"

"We know." She released them and all three proceeded into their respective bedrooms. Once everything was quiet and she was sure that no one had seen her double back, the ravenette stepped out from behind a pillar and headed towards one of the darkest reaches of the building far away from prying eyes.

Rivaille had remained behind on the plane which had taken off again almost immediately after the pair had disembarked, and now Eren and Erwin were left to find their own way through Latina's airport.

"So, let me guess, you'll be heading off in a few seconds too?" Eren asked him as they made it passed the revolving baggage claim.

"We'll be getting into cabs heading opposite directions, yes." The blonde replied as they approached the entrance of the airport. "I have to head to Cerveteri and you're remaining here in Latina for a few more days before heading out to Pompeii."

"I know that," he grumbled, "but I didn't expect to be left on my own right out of the gate."

"It's only a few days, Eren. We have confidence in you."

Eren sighed in reply but got into his own cab and headed towards the hotel that they had booked for him: one day and two nights. More than enough time to see everything in a town as tiny as this one. The hotel was located near the sea side, more modernized than a majority of the Greecian style buildings which surrounded it rising high into the night's dark sky with the waters of the ocean sparkling softly behind it. The lobby inside was clean, decorated with the usual ficuses, fish tanks and beige-gold tile. The front desk was staffed by a young man who spoke only broken English who handed him to key to his room; he promptly got into an elevator, walked down the hallway to his room and collapsed onto the bed. It seemed like only a few seconds later that the sunlight stabbing him in the eyes forced him to peel himself off of the mattress at which point he stumbled disjointedly around his hotel room until he finally managed to pull himself together enough to put on his gear. Locking the room behind him, Eren proceeded down to the lobby and headed for the doors beneath a relentless pelting of 'Buongiorno!' At somewhere around 55 degrees in the shade and 62 in direct sunlight the weather there was beautiful, but still chilly enough that he was more than grateful for the cut off jacket that his uniform provided even if it didn't provide quite as much warmth as the Hunter's full length one had. Swinging up onto the nearest rooftop, he set about his examination of the city. Clean streets, quaint homes, the little boats of fishermen bobbing on the warm waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. All in all it seemed to him to be a beautiful place, though one where the placid rhythm of a lain back life could easily be disrupted. After about four hours or so he stopped for a break, purchasing a light lunch of sausage cheese and fresh bread and taking it up onto the highest rooftop he could find in the vicinity which just so happened to be a church. The air had grown warm enough by than that the jacket was no longer necessary, so he removed it from his shoulders before reclining back and tipping his face up to the blazing sun. About twenty minutes went by undisturbed by anything aside from the occasional salty breeze before the soft hiss of compressed gas reached his ears, immediately putting him on high alert. Peering carefully over the edge of the roof, he saw a pair of hunters go whizzing by below.

_Shit, there must be a base here somewhere._ He thought._ Definitely not an option as a fallback, than. A real pity too, this town is so pretty. I'd love living this close to the sea and-._

"Ciao!"

"_Oh Jesus!_" His jacket went flying off the edge of the roof and he nearly toppled over it himself. Whirling around with green eyes flashing, he was confronted with the sight of a red haired hunter smiling brightly at him.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to frighten you." She chirped. "Il mio nome è Hannah. You are?"

This was bad; by now, every Hunter in the world had heard his name and knew he was a traitor. Luckily for him it seemed that his appearance hadn't been released. Formulating a pass off as quickly as he could, he came to the conclusion that replacing his first name with his middle one and giving a translation of his last name should be a safe enough answer to get him out of this. Plastering on a fairly convincing smile, he answered "Micheal Hunter."

"I haven't seen you around before, Micheal. You new to the city? I'll take you to the barracks if-."

"Oh, that won't be necessary; I was just taking a few days off duty and decided I'd take a weekend trip. It's a lot colder in Berlin, you see." Hopefully she'd buy it.

"Oh, well if that's the case I'll let you be. Just hold up a second so I can grab your jacket for you."

"Really, you don't have to!"

"No, I do. I knocked it down, so it's only polite. It'll just be a moment." Repelling down to the streets below with her gear, she picked up the fallen jacket and returned to the roof only to find it deserted. _He certainly doesn't like to wait._

"Hannah, there you are!" Two other members of her squad alighted on the roof beside her. "What are you doing up here? We're supposed to be on our way back to base."

"I saw another Hunter and thought I'd say hello; I frightened him accidently and he dropped his jacket off the side of the roof." She handed it over. "I went to pick it up for him but by the time I got back up here he was gone."

"Franz," the black haired girl holding the jacket called the other over. "Look at this!"

"It's a jacket, Mina. I don't see what's so strange about it; maybe the Hunters in Berlin wear shorter jackets."

"Do they also wear a different symbol?" She demanded, indicating the spread wings. "This isn't the mark of the order. I think it's the Legion's symbol: The Wings of Freedom."

"The crazy militants they've been warning us about?" he repeated, looking nervous. "Here? In Latina? Why, wouldn't they be aiming for the Vatican?"

"But how could he have been a member of the Legion? I know the signs of a Vampire, and he wasn't one!"

"It could have been _him_. The deserter of the 104th regiment. The one who threw his lot in with the parasites!"

"Mina, that's even worse than a Vampire!" Franz complained as Hannah paled. "Should we contact the Vatican? The 104th are stationed there: they can send someone over with the skills to deal with him."

"We'll let them know what's going on, yes. But we aren't going to ask for help we don't need." She informed them. "We may not be elites, but there's three of us and only one of him. Our superior numbers will even the playing field."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Completely: what could possibly go wrong? Now, let's hurry up and make that report so that we can search the area."

Once they had left the roof behind Eren, now lamenting the loss of his jacket, clambered down from the tongue of the enormous church bell inside of which he'd been standing to conceal himself from sight and delicately lowered his body to precarious balance on one of the eaves of the old church. _It's times like these when I realize how much I hate my job._ Stashing his gear in the bushes to be retrieved later he ducked into the first clothing store he saw and purchased a new outfit, changing in the fitting room before doing his best to make like a civilian on his way back to the hotel, hyper aware of the occasional gear clad figure swinging passed overhead. Succeeding in reaching safety at last, he flopped back onto his bed before pulling out his cellphone and searching through his contacts until he found the familiar name. "You're never going to believe my day: I just had to hide from some hunters in a church bell." If the laughter on the other side of the line was anything to go off of that comment had just made the raven's day. At the end of the phone call the brunet was forced to confront the fact that he couldn't easily go outside and travel freely without sever risk; the only way he'd get anywhere without being seen now was by using the bracers, and doing so during the day was not a good idea unless he wanted to boil his eyes with how unbearably bright the light would become. He skulked in his hotel room until evening came, the lighting just as the sun had begun to set bearable enough; slipping out of the window he set out to survey the damage that the knowledge of his presence had caused. The search seemed to have died down for the night as not a single hunter could be seen; the coast appeared clean enough and he needed to retrieve his gear before leaving for Pompeii in the morning. Landing lightly in a tree, he scanned the area again from his inverted position before shifting back and dropping down to the grass. No alarms went off, no armed shapes popped out to stop him. He edged out of the shadows, carefully approaching the bushes where he'd left his fear only to have her materialize from behind the church just as suddenly as she had appeared earlier in that day.

"Micheal. But that's not your real name, is it?" despite her best attempt at looking otherwise the wavering in her voice made it quite clear that she was terrified out of her mind. "You're him. The one that they warned us about. The Traitor!"

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Either way, confronting me alone in the dark is fairly brave of you Hannah."

"Who said she was alone, traitor?" the other two that he recognized from the roof earlier stepped out from the front. "We know who you are, and we've already alerted the Vatican to your presence! The 104th are on their way here as we speak, so just come quietly!"

"Even if it were true, that wouldn't be enough to make me 'come quietly'." He snorted. "Besides, I overheard your little conversation earlier; I'm calling your bluff!"

"How could you have heard anything?" Franz demanded. "You were gone by the time that Mina and I arrived."

"Had I really left? You'd think that just because you couldn't see me I'd have taken off, but then again you never did bother to check inside the big ass bell hanging just a few feet away. I overheard every word of your little plan." He replied calmly. "The three of you are so inexperienced that it's hard to believe that-from the look of you-we're about the same age."

"Just because we're not elites doesn't mean we're not experienced! And it certainly doesn't make us any less capable of bringing you down!"

"So you really think that the three of you stand a chance? I find that doubtful, but it doesn't seem as if I'll be able to talk you out of doing something stupid." Reaching up to grab the hilt of the weapon strapped across his back he pulled it free; the wrapping fell away to reveal the glowing white hot blade to thin air. "You still have the chance to walk away if you'd rather avoid having to go through a very painful combat drill."

Mina narrowed her eyes against the weapon's glow as it intensified and then ebbed away like the ocean's rolling tide, glancing at her two colleagues who were shifting about nervously. "Flank him." It was only reluctantly that they moved, falling out to trap their opponent in a triangular formation.

_How elementary._ Eren thought, the grip of his hand on the sword tightening somewhat as he continued eyeing the trio, waiting for them to make the first move. _The black haired girl, Mina, could prove to be a little bit of trouble but the other two shouldn't be anything overly difficult to handle._ Glancing covertly up at the clock tower rising in the center of the town, he took note of the placement of the hands. _The last tour bus leaves in 20 minutes; this may have to be a drag and run if I'm going to make it. I still have another day paid for before I planned to head over but it looks like I don't have much other choice but to move things forward a little earlier than I'd intended. _ Better to allow them to make the first move, because one would lag behind without the protection of the others. A simple take down would be had from there, not that he intended to kill any of them. "One last chance; think about what you're doing. Deep down, all three of you know that this isn't a fight you're going to win!"

"Shut up!" Just as he'd thought would happen, Mina launched herself at him with Franz right behind but Hannah hesitated for a fraction of a second, enough for him to knock her off balance and onto the ground and take off running down the street. He'd deal with reworking the plans around not having gear later, his whole focus now was set on reaching the tour bus in time. "No, stop him! Don't let that bastard get away!" The night wind whistled passed him, shoes slapping against the ground as he ran down the cobbled streets as fast as he could while well aware that they would easily catch up with gear at their disposal. Franz went for him next, but a quick leap backwards took him behind his strike and made it simple to sever one of the wires, wiping him out in a whirl of bloody scrapes and bruises. Unlike Hannah he didn't try to follow again once he'd gotten back to his feet, instead pulling out a cellphone and calling back to the barracks for assistance.

_Smart move, but they won't get here nearly fast enough!_ It was just the two girls on his tail when he darted through an open market place with the buildings spaced too far apart for gear to reach. Angry shouts combined with two other pairs of feet on pavement rang out behind him as he pressed himself flat against the wall of an alley before grabbing Hannah when they came around the corner as well and apply a precise jab to the pressure point at her neck, crumpling her like paper before he ran again. Five minutes left; he'd just make it with Mina still on his heels. _I'd thought for sure that she would stop for at least a few seconds to check on her friend, but apparently I was wrong._ Skidding around a corner with his lungs screaming and legs shaking Eren saw the tour bus and lunged for it as it was starting to pull away, slipping in through the closing doors and collapsing to the floor-much to the surprise of the other guests-and laying there for a moment before trudging to the empty seat in the back of the bus and peering out the back windshield to see Franz arrive on the scene to join his companion staring helplessly after the bus. _That,_ he thought, sagging down with a sigh,_ was __**way**__ too close!_


	35. Pompeii

"We haven't even been here for four days and we're already getting reports of the Legion running amok!"

"Do we know who it was?"

"Who we all figured it was, I'm sure. That turncoat has been busy."

"It was him? Alone?"

"They didn't say anything about him having company with fangs."

"Well, where was it that they saw him?"

"Latina."

"What? That's only about 50 miles from here!"

"Did they catch him?"

"No; three of their members got in over their heads going after him on their own; no one is dead or even wounded, but he got away."

The 104th were sitting around a table in one of the rooms at the Vatican, gathered together in concern over the most recent news they'd received from the front.

"So, what now?" Sasha finally piped up.

"We wait for them to pop up again: we don't have any choice." Jean grumbled, tossing aside the book he'd been reading only to receive a disapproving glare from Armin as he went to retrieve it. "He probably got off in the next town over and disappeared into the night. And God only knows what they're up to."

"Even if we did know what he was up to in Latina, or even what he's doing now, it's not as if we can do anything about it." Mikasa pointed out calmly from her position by the window. "We have our orders not to leave Rome until this is all over."

"Even to go after the Legion and root them out before they reach us?"

"Mikasa is right, going after them-playing their game-is the last thing that we want to do." Armin agreed, setting the book that Jean had carelessly tossed aside gently down on the nearest table. "They're trying to bait us by having Eren make an appearance; we can't forget the fact that both Rivaille and Erwin are masterful strategists. We have to think a few moves ahead and realize that they're trying to draw us away so that their greater force can slip in behind."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Surely there's something more that we can do!"

"I wish there was," Marco sighed, "but I trust Armin; he's always been right before and we have no reason to believe he's wrong this time. We're trapped at their mercy, cowering behind a set of walls."

"And the worst part is that it won't be long before we let them in."

"That's the part that I don't get about all of this." Reiner said. "I understand that we have a ward around Vatican city but I thought the whole purpose of that was to keep them out; to protest the supreme commander-the Pope-from their assassins. Not to let them in!"

"It _is_ meant to keep them out, but there's more than one ward built into the system." Armin explained. "Does anyone have a pen?"

"I do." Krista handed the pen over, the rest of the group curiously looking on as the blonde quickly drew a rough sketch of the area on a pad of paper. "Originally the ward only surrounded Papal Palace, but after the additions of a ward encompassing all of Vatican City in 1504 and then one spanning all the way out to the city limits of Rome in 1837 it's become the 'central ward'." He sketched the layers out quickly for them to see. "The second inner most ward, the mid ward, is already active and that's the one that we'll be using to keep them at bay. The outer ward is to be brought down behind them after they advance, keeping them from retreating. From there, the district wards will be activated to further divide their lines into a grid pattern of smaller groups which will be fairly easy to wipe out."

"Aren't the district wards fairly easy to shatter though?"

"They're connected to the mid-ward, so theoretically taking out the mid-ward with a strong enough magical pulse would disable the district wards as well. But that would take someone on this side of the ward to do so."

"Well, if sectioning them up like a pizza is all we have to do to defeat them this seems like it'll be an easy plan." Sasha piped up happily, looking relieved.

"Don't think that we can rest on our laurels yet; it's always the best laid plans that end up falling apart the quickest."

"Mikasa is right," Berthold agreed quietly. "I don't like this. If any one thing goes wrong…"

"The plans are already in place, so we don't have much choice now. Not that those stuck up bastards would listen to us even if we did!" Ymir pointed out. "But Beanstalk is right about one thing, both sides are dancing on the blades edge and one misteps will turn us both into toast. Needless to say, this is much too close for comfort."

The bus had stopped for the night at a road side in and set off again at around 5:30 in the morning for the remainder of the trip; by the time they finally reached the remains of the razed Roman city it was almost 8:00 and the morning air was wet and cold. Shifting his pack into a more comfortable position on his shoulder with his sword once against strapped safely to his back Eren disembarked the bus with all of the other passengers and followed along with the tour, biding his time until the perfect moment presented itself and allowed him to casually slip into one of the roped off areas and melt into the deep shadows. Stepping carefully around the plaster casts of ash-preserved bodies and passed the fading remnants of once grand murals Eren ducked into a still mostly standing building and crouched in the furthest corner until night fell and the tours ended for the day. Creeping out once more into the silent city of the dead, he looked around one more time just to make sure before taking to the air and heading up the slope of Mount Vesuvius until reaching a semi-flat wide area of land. Opening his bag, he pulled out the items he'd been given as well as the instruction sheet. First came the bag of polished homing stones, which were arranged in a circle according to the drawing, then scattered the mixture of sulfur salt and graveyard soil and read the chant inscribed on the card three times. With a loud and very sudden popping sound reminiscent of a fire cracker a large hole opened in the air in front of him, revealing the streets of Maria and the assembled force that had gathered there.

"Eren!" He immediately recognized Hanji's voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah! Loud and clear! Can see you too."

"Is the portal stable?"

Was it? "Uh…to be entirely honest with you I have not the slightest idea. We'll just have to test it and find out."

"I'll come through first and help you keep it open for the others, alright?"

He nodded. "That sounds like a good plan."

Hanji materialized a few feet away a second or two later, for once getting right down to business which was a surprise. "Well, it certainly seems to be working fine. There was a bit of turbulence, but with how far it travels that's to be expected. "Over all, well done especially for your first time."

Eren smiled. "Thanks. Now, how do we stabilize it?"

"Just focus: envision a pathway or a road leading from here to there and back. Imagine that it's made of metal and stone: something solid. Pull them to you." She replied brightly. "It's fairly simple, but if you screw up it could lead to maiming or death so don't lose your focus." Luckily for him he managed to push away the sudden nervousness until the portal was properly anchored and soon enough the others were all coming through. "So, how busy is this place usually during the day?"

"From what I've seen, very. Multiple tour buses come for a handful of hours every day, but that likely depends on the season." He replied. "Either way, it's best that we lay low during the day. There's more than enough space here to go unnoticed."

"Has Erwin gotten into contact with you yet?"

He shook his head. "Not yet: I'm not sure he's located them yet let alone convinced them to help us."

"And Rivaille?"

"He's in Russia now, I think. Apparently his 'friend' is proving fairly difficult to locate."

"What about your sister."

"I've only gotten one message from her letting me know they've arrived and that was the first day I was in Latina." Eren reported. "We're due for another any hour now, but there's no way to tell if she'll be able to send one."

"Well, he called us at some point yesterday and told us about you needing another jacket for your uniform. I believe that Petra is the one who has it with her."

"I'll go see her than, she must be around her somewhere. I'll see you later, Hanji."

Everyone had already begun to make their way down towards the city, and so he headed after the trickling procession, weaving through the lines and peering at faces answering the occasional 'good evening' or 'hello', finally managing to track her down in one of the many collapsing buildings.

"Oh, Eren there you are!" She said on seeing him, immediately going through the things she'd brought with her to locate the jacket and hand it over to him. "I was wondering when you'd come looking for this."

"Yeah, I lost mine during a close call in Latina." He told her. "Ran into some Hunters who called the Vatican on me and then hounded me through the streets."

"Do you think they know we're here?"

"Here in Italy? Yes. Here in Pompeii? Doubtful. Either way, at the moment there's not that much that we can do about it. We have to wait for Levi and Erwin to recruit more numbers before we can make our move. The stage belongs to my sister now."

Making the circles in her room was most certainly _not_ an option, but sneaking out wasn't easy either. She'd known from the minute that the blonde had approached them on the plane that the others were suspicious of her as she'd feared, though luckily they seemed to be under the misguided belief that the three who had whole heartedly accepted that her time in the Legion had been nothing more than a UC job and nothing more were somehow accomplice to it all, dividing their attentions over a larger scope. Of course, that didn't do anything to combat the fact that their numbers were such that-despite having yet to involve the superiors-they had at least one person leering at her at all times. This time it was Connie who stood sentry outside of her room trying his best to look as if he hadn't been watching.

"Oh, hey Mikasa. Fancy running into you here."

Hello, Connie." By now she was more than a little bit sick of this.

"Where are you off to?"

"I fail to see why that's any of your business. A better question is what you were doing waiting around outside of my room?"

"I wasn't…" he hesitated a moment before formulating a barely workable excuse. "I wasn't waiting around anywhere, I just happened to be walking by."

What an obvious lie. "Interesting, I'm walking too. Down the hall. Away from you." Much to her mounting annoyance he ignored the unspoken warning not the follow and trotted after in her wake.

"Where you headed? The library? The kitchen? I noticed that you didn't eat earlier; are you pulling a Sasha?"

Stopping outside her destination she rounded on him. "If you must know, I'm going to the bathroom; _good night _Connie! If I find you out here when I come out I will strap you to one of the combat dummies and use you for sword practice!" She slammed the door in his face and sank to the floor with a heavy, exhausted sigh. Bending forward to rest her head against her knees, Mikasa just sat there and didn't move for a few minutes before shakily getting to her feet and walking further into the room to slash the toilet and turn on the faucet as if her intentions there had been more than just a means to get a few minutes alone to gather her thoughts. Opening the door again she peered cautiously down the dark hallway in both directions; it appeared to be empty, at least at first glance. Seizing her chance, she slipped out and headed towards the corridor furthest from their improvised sleeping quarters. Once reaching her destination she covertly inspected her surroundings once again just to make completely certain she hadn't been followed before pulling the small pouch of dried ink from where she'd hidden it on her person and opened it, pulling out all of her needed supplies. Acting quickly to make the necessary preparations, she created the circle before cutting the paper into shape. By now the simplistic spell was familiar, and within a few moments the tiny construct she'd created was floating a few inches off the ground in front of her waiting patiently for its message.

"Eren, be aware when planning the advance that their plans are this: if you reference the blueprints from 1504 and 1837 you'll notice that two additional wards were added in addition to the ward protecting the Papal Palace, with district wards accompanying the mid-ward as well. They plan to use this feature to divide our forces. Keep in mind that I won't be able to bring the ward down until during the battle, so prepare for no escape and the need to at least temporarily fight in squads." Another small flash of light as the paper doll went off to do its assigned work, but as she turned to clean up what evidence she could the sound of approaching footsteps sent her diving for cover instead. A few seconds later a pair of dark figures in full uniform came around the corner; Ymir and Annie.

"I know I saw something through one of the windows up here." The blonde was saying to the other. "A flash of light: I saw it again from the stairs while we were heading up."

"Well, whatever was going on up here is over now. And it looks like the doer is gone as well." Crouching down beside the circle she touched the cracked tile floor gingerly with the tips of her fingers. "But they can't have gone far; it's still warm."

"It can't be an intruder; we have the wards up and guards on patrol."

"We search, then?"

"Yes, we do. And we wake the others to help us."

Ymir stared at her for a moment. "_All_ of the others?"

"All of them who we know are not responsible." She clarified. "We'll wake up the others and check in on our four suspects before searching the halls for some phantom traitor."

"Right." The moment that they hurried off Mikasa darted down a shortcut and made it back to her room, leaping into the bed and managing to even out her breathing just before the door swung open.

"Well?" a voice she recognized as Sasha's questioned shakily.

"She's asleep," Reiner said after a moment, continuing to observe the apparently sleeping form huddled beneath the covers before closing the door. "Looks like she hasn't moved at all tonight."

"Yeah she has; she went to the bathroom about 20 minutes ago." Connie said as the others turned to face him.

"How long was she gone?" Krista asked him.

"Well…I don't really know." He admitted after a moment.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Ymir growled.

"I…she caught me in the hallway and I tried to play it off as innocent but she didn't believe me! She threatened to use me for sword practice if I didn't beat it! I believed her! Besides, she was only going to the bathroom so I figured it was fine."

"Connie, you _idiot!"_

"Well, it's too late to bother railing on him. Instead of wasting time, we should check in on the others and search the grounds for any clues or suspicious behavior. Of course, this means that we can't rule her out either."

"A wild goose chase. Just what we need."

"We all know it's her; there's no point in running off to look for something that isn't there!"

"Annie," the square-jawed blonde replied patiently, "you and I both know there's plenty of reason, especially given that the only semblance of evidence we have on her is-at best-circumstantial. We need to at least make an effort at covering our bases."

"Reiner is right, we need to check the other's beds and search the halls." Berthold pointed out carefully. "We know that she's made notice of heading out to the main city in a few days; we'll accompany her then and see where she goes and what she's doing."

"As they dispersed down the hallway more than a few were reluctant to leave, but by this point they all knew that they didn't have a choice.


	36. Russian Bull

"Why is it do you think, old chap, that Russia as a whole is so bloody grey?" his companion inquired as the train they were ridding barreled onwards towards St. Petersburg. "Rather depressing, wouldn't you say?"

Rivaille replied with a rather noncommittal grunt. "Depressing? I suppose so. But then again many things are depressing; this endless hell of a life is depressing! Well, less so now but at the moment the cause of that fact is absent." His gaze shifted over to the window of the train to join that of his russet-haired companion, reflecting the cold tones which stained everything from the empty snow filled fields to the vacant shells of half-built buildings in violet blue and grey. "You're right, though. This is such a dismal place. No warmth. No light. I can see why it is that my Uncle never did bring himself to bother with this…country."

A silence again settled over them, disturbed at intermittent intervals only by the chugging of the train against its rails and the occasional footsteps of the other passengers walking passed outside the door. The raven's thing fingers twisted the golden band of the ring he wore around in pointless circles as if possessed of a mind of their own, his mist-toned eyes seeming to lose some of their luster as they shifted down towards his feet again.

"You lack your normal confidence, mate." The other's voice was quiet when he spoke, again drawing the other's gaze back to his own which was softly glowing scarlet. "You never did tell me what it was that you called me with you and asked that I send my coven ahead to that Roman city for. Pompeii. Just that you needed a favor." The raven didn't answer, preferring to hold the taller male's gaze in an effort to reassert himself against the subtle reference of loss of control. "I have heard."

"Heard?" he repeated in a low growl. "Heard what, exactly?"

"Things. Many things; you know me, always with my ear to the ground. Always ready to move when I need to."

"Indeed I am aware that skittering away into the dark with the rest of the wharf rats is nothing new for you, Gideon." He drawled. "But please do me the courtesy of elaborating."

"Rumors, really. Going back almost 50 years now." The Englishman replied smoothly as he leaned back in the seat, crossing one leg over the other to mimic his companion's posture. "Things that were vague at best, mostly. Tensions coiling tighter between you and your Uncle with each passing of the seasons. Nothing all that new or alarming really, until about two years ago."

When first he'd met the brat. "And what did you start to hear two years ago?" he asked, feeling his lips beginning to twitch upwards into a small smile.

"Something that made me regret leaving the Military Police behind to profit from the Chinese Opium Trade. Political uproar as you finally took your long awaited stand against your Uncle. The scandal of your sexual relations with a male Hunter. The fire at the manor in Stohess. The fall of Althalaxx. Your…recent marriage." His eyes drifted to the ring with which his fingers still fiddled with almost of their own accord. "I'm rather quite surprised that you didn't bring your pet with you."

"Eren is not my _pet_ imbécile! And he is currently stationed with the Legion's forces in Italy, overseeing things while I chase down those like you who owe me favors and Erwin wrangles the Turned of Europe." He replied sharply. "Have you any idea how difficult this is for me, you British bastard?"

Gideon brushed his dusty brown bangs carelessly away from his face. "How difficult what is for you?"

"You'd think me a fool."

"Arguably everyone is a fool, all dependent on who you ask and what questions."

"Tch! You haven't changed at all!"

"And you have changed a great deal, Rivialle." He countered. "Now, shall you tell me? What is so difficult for you?"

"Fuck off!"

"I figure from your defensiveness, your protective shielding of your image, that you speak of the difficulty of being parted from the holder of the other half of that set to which your ring belongs." A serpent's smile spread across his ferret-like face. "Am I right?"

"There's no shame in it! None at all!"

"In missing him? Or in showing weakness?"

"Weakness?" the raven snarled, grey fading into scarlet as claws slid from their sheathes. "I'll show you _weakness!"_

"Oh don't get your bloody bloomers in a bunch!" And just like that their car was quiet again, this time in a manner much more uncomfortable than before and this lasted for quite a while until Rivaille broke the silence by speaking again.

"He's like the sun, and I find myself feeling cold when he's not with me."

The Englishman snickered. "Ah, the great Rivaille bowed to the floor by that ghost, that shadowed, known to all the world as love! That thing which he always claimed did not exist! How rich!"

"Oh, bâton une chaussette dans lui!"(1) He snapped furiously. "How much longer are we going to be stuck together in this damnable box car!"

The chain of the brass copper watch hissed as it was pulled out, the case clicking open to allow its owner to glance down at its glass face. "Not long, now. We should be arriving in the station by the top of the hour."

Again the silence between them returned for the remaining 20 minutes prior to the train roaring into the station. The horn wailed once as the chugging slowed to a stop and the pair got to their feet, dragging down their bags before joining the crush of people all heading down the aisles of the train and through the doors out into the station. The country was even more despairing and grey once out on the streets than it had been when observed through the windows of the train; the first of the subtle observations that Rivaille made about his surroundings was that, unlike America, the people in the streets were largely woman flitting by in blurs of black clothing and white-blonde hair. The sky was grey, the sidewalks grey, the buildings grey. They saw few men while walking the streets and most of whom they did see were drunken and viewed through the open doors of bars or else sprawled out in the shadowed corners of forgotten filthy alleyways with limbs flayed open by drugs. Dour. Filthy. The raven grimaced. An unmarked car pulled up out of the smoke and dust of industry, the window nearest them rolling down to reveal the occupants inside.

"Vy frantsuz?" (2) the driver grunted at them in harsh Russian.

"Yes, I am 'the Frenchman'; I take it that you were sent here to get me by your boss?"

"Da."(3)

"Let's not keep him waiting, then." Popping the door open, he tossed his bag onto the floor and the pair clambered into the back seat. The drive before them was neither quick nor long, and after being whisked away to what had to be the city's darkest corner they were led into a shadowed room and abandoned. The space was open, cold, dusty and vaguely reminiscent of some combination of an interrogation room and some sort of office. The only other occupant was a man, near as tall as Erwin was with a shaved head and wide set shoulders dressed in a pale brown trench coat and standing with his back to them facing a table.

"It has been a long time, Rivaille." He grunted. "70? 80 years now?"

"85, I believe." The raven corrected. "Vy , kazhetsya, khorosho , Russkiy Byka." (4)

"As do you, quite in opposite of what I've heard."

"Don't tell me that my recent escapades have really made it this far."

"In a society as black and white as ours is under your Uncle's iron fist, grey bleeds over quickly. I am astounded that you are surprised to hear this." The other man replied. "Vy by predpochli pit?"

"If you offer me something I will drink it, though God only knows that Vodka is far from my usual cup of tea."

"You prefer wine, I remember that much clearly." Unscrewing the lid on the glass bottle in his hands, he poured three glasses of the clear liquid before finally turning to face the other two and hand them out. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company and the company of your…friend?"

"Aquaintance." Rivaille corrected. "I do not allow the debts owed to me to go unpaid. One way or another I collect on any favors I may choose to dish out. And I am sure that we both remember the amount of favors that I leveraged to get you into the position you are now. All for the sake of having a number of individuals the like of which most other nobles would discard as unsavory in my pocket just for such a situation as this one. I've come to collect."

"So you're asking me to join you in a war?"

"I know that you're no friend of my Uncle."

"That doesn't mean that I want to become embroiled in the blood feud of a clan to which I don't belong."

"Russian Bull?" Gideon snorted. "More like yellow-bellied coward."

"What price would it take? The world after the fall of the M. P. will be under my rule without fear of the Hunter Sect, as they'll now be our allies in maintaining world order instead of committing misguided genocide. Name your price and I'll see what can be done once all of the dust has settled."

"This would be taking place in Rome? At the seat of Hunter power?"

"At the Equinox, yes."

"And we would be expected to continue our aid after the Hunters have fallen, when you turn your eyes on your Uncle?"

"That wouldn't be required-it's likely that Enzio will back out after the battle in Rome as well-but it would, however, be a great asset considering your own fighting abilities and those of your coven."

"And the more aid that we supply to the Legion now, at least so I was told, the greater the rewards we'll receive once Rivaille is at the top of the new world order." Gideon cut in. "So that's something that you should definitely keep in mind."

"I by no means intend to make it seem as if I will not repay my debts to you, Rivaille. However, I am not sure that involving myself in your conflicts and by consequence aligning my interests with yours would be the best thing for either of us."

"It's entirely understandable that you'd be on the fence about this." Rivaille replied slowly, being careful with choosing every word. "Will you at the very least consider this?"

For a moment the other man didn't respond, then he sighed. "I will promise to consider it," he finally said, "but I will promise nothing more."

Translations:

1 – Stuff a sock in it

2 – Are you the Frenchman?

3 – Yes

4 – You seem well, Russian Bull

5 – Would you care for a drink?


	37. Hour Glass

The next morning was unusually hot, especially for a morning in winter. The sky was big and very blue with not a single cloud in sight and the sun shown down like a polished coin, baking the cobble stoned streets of the ancient city glowing white beneath its rays. Despite the fairly early hour of the morning the streets beyond Vatican City-now closed down to tourism-were crowded with shoppers and store owners hawking their wares at market. Evacuation measures were rumored to begin at some point that week, though the higher ups wanted to delay them as long as possible to ensure that people would only be away from their homes and businesses for a comparatively short period of time.

"Crazy, isn't it? How many people are out this early in the morning. And at the outdoor grocery store too."

"The correct term is 'market' dumbass!" Ymir snapped at him, earning a glare from Reiner.

"Apparently they only buy what they're going to eat for the day instead of shopping for a week or a month at a time like Americans do." Mikasa recalled one of the many explanations she'd heard Armin give in recent days, biding her time for the correct moment to escape; her Cousin's contact had been ordered to wait for her all day if need be but she wasn't exactly keen on being stuck with her unwelcome escort for that long. "Armin said something about that on the plane."

"Interesting." It didn't really sound like it from the tone of his voice.

Catching sight of the darkened doorway of a nearby curio store, she made a quick change of direction and headed straight for it. "Let's go in here." Disappearing into the doorway she left the other two no chance to protest and it was a simple matter to become lost amidst the many cluttered shelves. Once sure that she'd slipped her pursuers, Mikasa opened the back door and took off down the alleyway outside, acting quickly to get as far down the street as she could before making her way towards the sketchy restaurant and bar where their meeting had been arranged. The interior of the dingy dive was dark and smoky and the only other occupant was a man who-with his Fedora and pinstripe suit-resembled a walk off from the set of _The Godfather._

"You're Enzio?" inquiry made as she slid seamlessly into the booth opposite him. Red eyes gleamed appraisingly up at her from beneath the rim of the hat the man wore as a fanged smirk spread across his face.

"That would depend on whether or not you're old Piccoletto's(1) little cousin." He replied. "If your answer is 'yes' than my answer to your question is in kind."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm sure neither of us want to sit here all day."

"That we can't, if you can't. I could, theoretically, but that's beside the point."

"My cousin failed to warn me of the fact that you talk in circles." She dead panned.

"A developed habit, I suppose. A useful tool for one to have when you're in the business that I am." A second oily smile. "Your time table may be tight, but stay and speak with me over lunch. I insist; this place has the best fare in all of Italy."

Mikasa had a rapidly increasing feeling that this was going to be a long day. "If you're anything like what I'd expect out of a man who is an acquaintance of my cousin, you've already ordered for me. Despite the fact that, at the moment, it's barely 7 am."

"The owner is familiar with my habit of not sleeping and they've long had a habit of serving everything at all hours so long as you know the right questions to ask." He informed her as a waiter appeared on the scene, dropping off two enormous plates of pasta and a bottle of wine before disappearing.

"And I see that you know how to ask those questions," she noted tartly as a glass was filled and passed to her.

"I do. Question is, do you?"

A challenge or a simple observation? She wasn't quite sure. "Let's start with this one: you're the one responsible for the theft of the Vatican blueprints?"

To this much the mobster look alike laughed. "Me? No! But I did pay off the one who is; a Hunter, much like yourself, with clearance enough to get into the Secret Archives." Removing the hat that he wore to reveal gelled black brown hair, he set it carefully on the table beside his plate. "You may be the only Legion rat, but you're far from the only rat. As a matter of fact, your 'dignified and honorable' Order is really nothing more than the world's biggest rat race and the Vatican a sewer which the King of the Rats calls home. Corruption and bigotry have always boiled just beneath the surface, dogging your leadership-the very core of your efforts-like the hounds of hell since a time before remembering. And if something isn't done that isn't likely to change any time soon. Kenny, as much as he despises Humanity, is not a fool. He knows an opportunity for control when he sees one, and he has always monopolized on the truth of what your Order is really about; the furtherance of greed. In fact I've heard a number of rumors about ties existing between the Military Police and the Rose."

This was interesting even if it wasn't true, and concerning if it was. Best to cover all bases. "And what rumors would those be, exactly?"

"Higher ups, the Pope himself, tucked away in Kenny's pocket going back as far as my memory serves and let us keep in mind that I have lived for near as long as your Cousin has. Nile Dok, his father, his father's father and so on going back for a long while. But let's remember," his eyes flashed even brighter in the low candle light as he raised his glass to take a drink, "they're just rumors."

"So that's what you deal in, is it? Rumors?"

"Secrets. Rumors. Scandalous whispers spoken of only in the deep silence of the night. I, myself, am a rat as well and I always keep my whiskers up and twitching for any signs of danger. But I also deal in more concrete things; black market goods, both mundane and magical dependent on my differing cliental. I'm quite well rounded in that regard, which is the reason that one with a mind like your Cousin's enjoys having me wrapped around their finger. I would warn you about your Cousin, but I think you're already well aware of the fact that Taipan he really is. Don't think that the boy has changed his true nature."

Think back to her long ago dream of the shimmering jet black scales wrapped in a crushing embrace around her brother's chest, she shuddered. "I'm just as much of a serpent as he is."

"Your line not but a pit of vipers, of that much I am well aware."

"Will you be joining us in the fight, then?" she asked him, picking at her food; Mikasa couldn't deny that it was indeed very good, but the sudden turn that their 'friendly' conversation had taken caused her to lose her appetite.

"In the battle royal itself? I think not! As I told you before I am a rat; I have wholly accepted what I am and come to terms with the fact that I will never be anything more. I scuttle, I squeak, but I only bite when cornered and I do not seek to better my standing in this world. Rivaille, I think, is well aware that I will not be seeing him on the battle field. I will still be in the city however; no point in leaving."

"You aren't worried that he'll force you out once the Legion overtakes the Rose?"

He chuckled in reply. "I am far too useful to him for that to happen, little Hunter. Unlike the others, I do not require owing an unpaid debt to do favors for him, and all that I ever ask in return is a bit of money in return. Something that is of no consequence to him, a man with more money than God."

"A fact that my brother has been enjoying the benefits of; he spoils him."

"But let's end this idle talking, shall we? Do you not have places to be?"

"More like people hunting me down." She replied bitterly, watching him reach into his pocket and pull out a compact metal object which was passed across the table. "What's this?"

"An Arcane Detonator; hook it up to one of the pylons generating the wards and it'll destroy it but be aware that with how unstable it is there's no way of telling if it will survive for more than one use. There are three wards, aren't there?"

"But only two that need to be brought down." Seeing the door swing open to a familiar figure she swiftly stuffed the device into her pocket. "That's them! Get out of here!"

"More Hunters?" Scooping up his hat, he replaced it on his head before sliding out of the booth. "I'll take my leave then; please do send your Cousin my regards. And if you need me again, I'll be around."

"What the hell was that little stunt?" Ymir demanded as the pair walked up to her. "And who was that?"

"A friendly native; only an Italian would know where to find the best food in this city." Calmly taking another sip of wine she added "and as for running off, I wanted to make it quite clear that I know what you're up to and have lost my patience with your little games."

"You don't get to 'lose your patience' when you're a suspect!"

"Don't I?" she challenged, returning to her feet and pushing passed them towards the door. "Well then, it seems you'll just have to watch me. I'll be walking back alone!" She got her wish, this time, and returned to the Vatican without her company, immediately scouring the halls until she finally found who she was looking for. "Leonhart!" The shorter blonde turned towards her with her usual unimpressed expression. "I've had more than enough of this; being stalked in the streets and staked out at night by my own so-called comrades! Drop this nonsense so we can focus on the real enemy here!"

"We are focusing on the real enemy. And you're in no position to be ordering me around; you're not the leader of this squad! Not anymore!"

"Aren't I? You're #4 and baseless suspicions aside I'm still #1. Even if I were no longer able to perform my role as leader due to injury or some other means of incapacitation the #2-Reiner-would take over. Not you."

"We've done fine without you for almost a year! And we've more than ample reason to think that you're no better than your brother is!"

"Then why haven't the superiors been involved?" she countered sharply.

"Because we don't need them involved; this is an internal matter that we fully intend to handle ourselves!"

"Is that so?" she hissed, grey eyes narrowing into what was likely a very Rivaille-like glare. "You have three days; involve the higher ups or I will!" That threat made, Mikasa turned on her heel and stalked away back down the hall.

After the dismal conditions in Russia, the blue sky and green parks of Paris were a splash of welcomed color and relief. The Eiffel tower rising in the distance was familiar, reminding him of home despite having left France almost 80 years prior to its construction. Gideon, beside him, seemed fairly unimpressed.

"This city is right across the bloody channel from London! Why did we go all the way to Russia on the damn train first?" he demanded of the raven, who considered ignoring him for almost 2 full minutes before finally answering his question.

"Simple; I know exactly where Cadice will be but I wasn't entirely sure exactly where Rastislov had gotten off to. This way I was sure that we were left more than enough time to get back before the Equinox so that some planning could be put into place." He replied. "Don't question me; you should know by now that everything I do is for a well thought out reason."

"Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, continuing to peer about at the city with an almost bored expression. "I've been here too many times; I've found that I highly dislike the French."

"I'm French, you bastard!"

"And you wonder why it is that I say I dislike them? We are partners of opportunity, not friends. Or have you forgotten that?"

"Of course not!" The raven snapped, stopping outside of a building named _The Pearl._ "Here it is."

"So these are your sources? A Victorian Era Drug Dealer, a black market mobster who at one point catered to Al Capone, a flaky KGB and a Parisian Whore?"

"Madame, not whore!" A thickly accented voice barked at them from the stairs.

"Cadice." Rivaille greeted in a fairly warm tone, offering a charming all be it small smile. "Ça faisait longtemps."(2)

"Rivaille! Charmant! Je l'avais entendu dire que vous étiez mort!"(3) She exclaimed, descending the stairs towards them quickly. Thin and curvy and clad in a black dress and a string of pearls, she was a tall woman so much so that she had to bend down a considerable degree to kiss the raven's cheeks in a greeting which was not reciprocated and left Gideon snorting in amusement. "Come in! Come in! Let us speak inside!" The pair was swept before her into the brothel's door, a number of girls observing them appreciatively and tittering to each other as they passed down the hall. "How long have you been back in Paris? Why have I not seen you before today?"

"We just arrived in town two hours ago and we do not have much time, I am afraid. I wish we could have…spoken again under better circumstances but unfortunately that cannot happen now."

"We'll speak of that in a moment. You would like some tea?"

"That would be much appreciated, if you don't mind." Cadice swept out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a tea tray; setting it on a nearby table, she poured three cups of tea and handed them out. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." She replied. "When did you take to wearing jewelry, Rivaille? Last that I remember of you-though it was long ago and you were much younger-you detested such things."

"I simply don't find myself to be one for adornments, but this ring isn't one without meaning."

"Of course it isn't! It's the Ackerman family crest!"

"More so than that," he replied, taking a sip of the tea that he held.

"Clearly someone has been too busy to pay attention to goings on elsewhere in the world," Gideon snorted. "That's what's serving as his wedding ring; he's been married for almost a year now."

"Really?" the woman seemed thrilled to have something to press for details on. "What is this woman like that she could ever hope to garner such affections form a man such as yourself?"

"Not a-_ouch!_" The other yelped when the raven kicked him in the shin.

"Will I get to meet her? Did you bring her with you?"

"No, I didn't and…I suppose that you'll be hard pressed to avoid running into _him_ at some point provided that you agree to offer us your aid."

"Ah? So it is an unconventional arrangement than? I'm sure that Kenny is furious with you."

Rivaille nodded. "For a number of reasons, and that's just why we're here. War has broken out between myself my Uncle and the Rose; I and a number of others who follow me have broken away from the Military Police for good and rallied the Legion but we still need as many additional numbers as we can muster if we're to overturn them so I've come to ask that you make good on that favor you still owe to me."

"So you would use your favor for my help fighting the Hunters? From the fact that you are in need of such numbers as you described I would assume you are striking directly at Rome?" he nodded. "Will you not also need help against your Uncle?"

"I will. Sorely."

She grinned at him then, fangs flashing and eyes black as a shark's. "You know that that will cost you, yes?"

"I'm aware. Name your price."

"You know, I think, what I would ask for."

A somewhat strained sigh in response. "You've all asked me for the same thing. And if you aid me and we win, you'll have my debt to you paid in full."

"My girls and I will sure to come prepared to cater to your party, then. By what date do you expect us in Rome?"


	38. Equinox

"I thought that we agreed that the superiors wouldn't be involved!"

"We did, but the choice was taken out of our hands!"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that we were given an ultimatum; tell the superiors about our suspicions or she would tell them for us. To submit to a questioning and examination to prove that our suspicions are false!"

"Do you think that she could be innocent now, then?"

Annie snorted viciously in response. "Of course not! But I do know that she's planning something!"

The little group fell silent immediately on seeing the other four entering the hall, glaring with mistrustful eyes as they walked up to them.

"This should clear everything up in regards to your concerns about me; let's agree to put all of this behind us after today." Grey eyes met blue ones as he quiet hung tense and heavy; both gazes held veiled threats as they stared each other down.

"If this whole point of this was to stop the hostilities than what's gained by the two of you fighting?" Armin quickly moved to stand between the bristling pair. "We need to be reasonable about all of this, especially with everything that's been going on!"

"Reasonable? To hell with reasonable! There's not a single damn thing that's reasonable about this entire situation!" Jean snapped, folding his arms over his chest. "If they want to be stubborn bastards, let them! I don't know if I can trust people that don't trust me to have my back when it really counts! And I'm a bit too offended to think about forgiving them for insulting us like this at the moment!"

"He's right," Marco agreed quietly, hazel eyes troubled. "We're supposed to be a squad; a squad that looks out for respects and believes in each other. With how quickly the 104th has become unraveled, we should all probably take some time to re-evaluate where we stand."

The heavy doors to the council room creaked open and a guard poked his head out. "They'll see you now." Nodding in response, she followed him back into the room to find the five council seats occupied and the Pope staring down his beak like nose at her through narrowed eyes.

"You informed us that the other members of the 104th are, to use your words, 'under the delusion' that you've not only been turned against us, as your brother has, but that you've been Turned." Nile's voice boomed through the chamber but her face didn't once falter from its usual stoical calm. "What is your response to this?"

"I find their suspicions utterly baseless, as evidenced by the fact that they proceeded to keep them secret." She replied. "Not to mention that, had I something to hide, I wouldn't have voluntarily put myself under such careful scrutiny."

"They consider you responsible for the recent rash of black magic being invoked in these halls?"

"It would appear that way, Sir. But I can't even cast the simplest of spells-it's rare that a Human can-because I'm _not_ a Vampire!" Mikasa explained. "I'm willing to submit to any test you'd wish me to."

"If you were Turned you'd have to have been bitten. Would you allow us to search your body for any traces of bite marks?"

Removing her jacket and dropping it to the floor, she unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it aside. "Be thorough, I'd appreciate getting this all cleared up today."

One of the other guards circled her, brushing back her black hair to check her neck and shoulders, cold metal gauntlets chilling her skin.

"Nothing, Sir."

"Nothing?"

"If she doesn't have a mark than she can't be Turned."

"Very well," his dark eyes turned back onto her as she fixed her clothing. "It would appear that you've been cleared, at least for the moment. You're free to leave."

"With all due respect Sir, I don't believe your word alone will be enough to sway them to believe the truth that I still am and always have been a Hunter before all else."

"And why would that be?"

"My name, Sir. Ackerman; nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence but their own suspicions will not allow them to see reason and believe that. I'd like to make it clear that I am neither Turned nor Pureblood beyond any shadow of doubt."

"Taking a bath in holy water is rather extreme."

"'Extreme' is the only thing with a hope of convincing them." Pulling herself up onto the edge of the font, Mikasa leapt lithely down into the water which sloshed over her head before settled at about shoulder level; warm, dusty and sticky, it was hardly the most pleasant experience she'd ever had to go through. If anything, the on looking superiors didn't look too happy with her stunt.

"Ok, you've proved you point! Come out of the water!" Wet and dripping, she gladly climbed back out again before returning out into the hallway where the others were still waiting leaving a trail of tiny puddles in her wake.

"Mikasa!"

"Why are you _wet?"_

"I went for a swim in the font to make sure there was no possible way that even the most stubborn of you could continue to think that I'm somehow a traitor and a Vampire!" She grated against chattering teeth, the halls cold with the spring evening. "Now, I'm going to go shower and change into warm clothes!" Mikasa could feel her skin starting to burn and itch but forced herself to walk at a normal pace until she was out of sight of the others. Grabbing the first clothes that she could get her hands on she turned on the water and leapt onto the shower while it was still freezing cold. The only thing that mattered at the moment was getting the blessed water off of her skin before it started to blister. Halfbloods, thankfully, could withstand it for far longer than a Pureblood could but that wasn't saying all that much. Emerging only once completely sure that she'd gotten all of the caustic substance off her person, she dried off with a clean towel and redressed before stepping out into the hallway with her wet uniform in hand. Heading down to the driers she tossed it inside and was in the process of messing around with the dials when he appeared suddenly behind her.

"Hopefully the superiors will be able to convince them to drop this." Armin said quietly as she selected the correct wash cycle before shutting the machine's hatch.

"I hope so," she told him. "Otherwise, we'll have real trouble once the fighting starts. And what about Jean and Marco; have you managed to talk sense back into either of them?"

"Unfortunately, not yet. To be entirely honest with you, I doubt anyone will be able to."

"I'd expect this out of Jean prideful as he's always been, but not from Marco. Normally he has more grace than this. Of course, normally the situation doesn't have as much riding on it as this one does." For a while the rhythmic chugging of the washer behind them was the only sound to fill the room. "How much damage has it caused? What happened while I was being interrogated?"

"The divide that you were worried about? It's gotten bigger." He informed her. "After you went in for the interview Jean and Reiner went at it; if Marco and Berthold hadn't held them both back…either way, the 104th has split up."

Split up?" What do you mean we've 'split up'?"

"It doesn't seem like the others are going to stop, even with proof now having been presented that they're engaged in nothing but a fruitless witch-hunt. " The blonde quickly informed her. "The others are all still going along with Annie on matters. Jean and Marco don't believe a word of it and all three of us are sick to death of their baseless blame game. We're still following you!"

"So the other two believe what the superiors are saying; that I've been proven innocent?"

"They didn't need proof."

"And you?" she shot at him suddenly, tone clipped.

"Does it really matter what I think?"

"I'd like to know. If there's even the slightest shadow of a doubt in your mind then you shouldn't be here, Armin."

"Your skin is red, are you alright?"

"Hot water!" Mikasa replied sharply, cutting off his attempt at changing the subject. "Now, tell me."

"…I trust you, you know that." Armin said softly. "But I can't help but get caught up on what you said about the Legion on the plane. And the fact that I've never once seen you without that Hairclip, the one he gave you, since you came back."

"It's not a show of solidarity if that's what you think."

"I'm not suggesting that it is. But I need you to be honest with me right now. Is there ever a time for even the most fleeting moment that you think back on your time in the Legion and truly regret leaving? Was there even a moment while you were with them that you began to believe you were actually one of them?"

"You're asking me if I regret coming back?" she refused to look at him, instead focusing her gaze on a crack in the wall.

"In simple language, yes."

"Do I regret leaving them? A little. Do I regret coming back here? From time to time. Would I have regretted deserting if I really had chosen to join them? Most likely, though as I haven't done it I can't really be sure. No matter what one does in life there will always be regrets; one thing of value I did learn from Rivaille is that life isn't the choice between Good and Evil, in the end. It's the choice with least regret, and that's different for every person."

"And for you, what choice was that?"

The drier dinged and stopped and Mikasa stooped to open the door and pull out her uniform. "Good night, Armin." She walked away, leaving him standing there troubled by an unanswered question. Dropping her now dry and wearable uniform off in her room, she made her way up onto the highest floor before slipping out of a window and pulling herself up onto to roof. Night had fallen not long before, the stars just beginning to make their appearance in the heavens above. Soon they would bare silent witness to the molding of a new and better world and all of the trouble would be worth it; the Spring Equinox was now only 7 days away exactly and soon her cousin would return to Italy and her brother would lead their forces to the city. Then it would be her turn; once again the thought of the detonator, now tucked safely away in a drawer, weighed heavily on her mind. Volatile, it had been called. Would it hold up for the two uses it was needed for? More importantly, would she survive being in the same room as the thing when it went off? Enzio hadn't said anything about it being dangerous, but then again she hadn't asked and once could assume that the danger was implied. So caught up in her own thoughts was she that Mikasa almost didn't register the sound of another pair of footsteps crossing the roof towards her. Sitting up, she glared cautiously as the blonde settled herself on the slate shingles a few feet away. She didn't say anything on the matter and the other didn't seem much inclined to do so either, and after a while both broke eye contact and looked away. Adjusting her scarf so that it fit more snuggly around her neck to keep away the cold, she lay back down and closed her eyes. Maybe she'd sleep up here; despite the cold it was much nicer under the stars than in her tiny stuffy room. Maybe if she acted like she was asleep already her unwanted company would get the hint and go away.

"I know what you are." One grey eye slid open at the sudden scalding accusation; no surprise that the blonde was glowering at her pointedly.

"Oh?" she questioned archly. "And just what would that be? We've proven that I'm not a leech, but you never know. Maybe Eren found me in the portal to hell that his father was hiding in their basement, or perhaps I run around at night on the full moon in the form of a man eating wolf! Should I take a bath in silver shavings next?"

"Don't you dare patronized me!" Annie snarled back wolfishly. "I don't know what the hell sort of trick you pulled in there, but you did something! I _know_ what you are even if you have the superiors dancing on puppet strings! Don't think I'll let you get away with this!"

"At the moment, all I'm trying to get away with is some peace and quiet." Closing her eyes again, she went back to ignoring the other's presence but the stubborn blonde continued to glare bitingly for almost an hour before finally giving up and rising to her feet and turning to walk away. "Oh, and Annie, before you go one more thing," when the other turned to sneer at her again she smirked. "You'll never prove anything."

Between dictating and scrambling to catch up on the updates and warnings that had been sent in through his cousin he'd had no chance all day to go looking for Eren on his own and had somehow managed not to stumble on him even once throughout that day. Relieved to finally put an end to adding finishing touches to their plan of action and seizing his chance to slip away despite his exhaustion, he finally managed to locate the brunet sitting on an outcropping of volcanic rock about an hour outside the city up the side of Vesuvius.

"Where have you been all day, brat?" he asked, trudging the rest of the way up the rocky outcropping to sit beside him. "I thought for sure that you'd be at the head of the welcome wagon."

"You're back?!" he sounded surprised. "I hadn't realized…I was out here running training drills for Asher and the others all day; they headed back but I stayed out here to watch the sunset and…I guess I lost track of time. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, you know better." The raven replied calmly. "Would you like me to catch you up on what's going on?"

He nodded. "Yes, please."

"Rastislov still hasn't shown up yet and I don't know if he will, but Gideon came back with me and Cadice should be arriving within the next few days." He told him. "Alerted to the district wards as we are, with thanks to Gamine, we've already divided out forces up into squads as called for for better operation under divided conditions. You will, of course, be with myself Petra Oluo Gunther and Eld. Asher will be leading Athena and the others, though I've specifically directed them to escort the medical unit so they'll be removed from the brunt of the fighting. Gideon and Cadice will flank from East and West and Erwin will be coming in from the South. We have point, at North. The remainder of our forces have been spread out through the smaller districts. Hopefully Gamine will be able to carry through with her role swiftly, because fighting in division with no backup is most certainly not ideal. Not to mention that we'll all have to move with precise timing to avoid any disadvantageous separations. Difficult enough without distraction, let alone in the middle of a major battle."

"We'll adapt if we have to, but I'm sure that we'll be fine." Eren said, leaning against the other's shoulder. "But there is one thing that has me worried; something that's out of our hands."

"And what would that be?"

Eren shifted slightly, reaching into his pocket to pull out the paper. "I got another report about 20 minutes ago; the 104th has shattered into two pieces: Jean Marco and Armin are backing Mikasa while the rest of them think she's a traitor. It will definitely be difficult for her to get away long enough to bring the wards down."

Rivaille smirked in response. "You forget that she'll be slipping away during the battle. People get separated all the time in the thick of combat; it will be simple for her to double back and bring down Mid Ward. From there we push forward to give her back up on taking out Central ward and then take out the listed superiors."

"That's one of the parts of the battle plan that I don't understand." The brunet admitted after a moment. "The hit list, I mean. Going for the supreme commander-the Pope-makes sense but why only take out some of the superiors and not all of them?"

"Because it has less to do with their positions and more to do with their tendency to cater towards my Uncle's interests the minute they're offered a bit of money: I have good information that a number of them are in his pocket, and I will _not_ stand for the presence of sympathizers of the Military Police!"

"Do you really think it could be true, though? The Rose and the M.P. have always fought. You'd think that if they were really working together they wouldn't."

"Working together? I never said they were." The raven snorted, face contorting into something unpleasant. "Let us both remember exactly who it is that we're dealing with here; my Uncle would never _work_ with any Human-most especially a Hunter-because if you work together that makes you partners. Equals. And in the Pureblood mindset that will never be the case. But use them? He'd think nothing of _using_ them. Because what does someone use? An object. A tool. There is no equality to be had in using something."

Eren looked genuinely horrified now. "Are you telling me that I've been working for the M.P all along and didn't know it? Is this some sort of worldwide conspiracy?" he demanded. "And where I knew that your Uncle was an evil bastard I never thought he'd voluntarily allow his own people to be killed."

"He's not the first ruler in history to do so, and I doubt he'll be the last." Grey blue eyes observed him coolly from where the other sat on one of the cleaner patches of volcanic rock. "Besides, it's far from 'worldwide'. The Vatican however…I have reason to believe that every single one of them are dirty, but I could only manage to get hard evidence on a few."

"The hit list?"

He nodded. "We'll be sure to keep a close eye on the rest."

"Erwin is aware?"

"We all are, including you now. And we'll all be well equipped to act accordingly." Bother returned their eyes to the torches blazing in the ruined city below. "There's only little left to do now. It won't be long before we're one step closer to our goals." But even after that a lot more was left to stand in their way.


	39. The Best Laid Plans

"It's the Equinox today."

"The most meaningful day until Cinco de Mayo, so If anything is going to happen before then it'll probably be tonight."

"And night is in only a few hours."

"Any news?" both turned to look at him when he approached them from the hallway.

"None yet, Marco." Armin replied as Jean just scowled and stayed silent to show his dismay. "What about you?"

"Nothing major, but there have been reports of movement in the countryside surrounding the city." He told them. "Mikasa seems like she's waiting for something, more so than the rest of us are; she's taken up watch on a rooftop and won't move. She can see everything for miles up there."

"She's watching for the battle to start, I'm sure. She never has been one to sit around and let others do work for her when she thinks that she can do it better herself." Jean pointed out. "As for what she's waiting for, Vindication probably. Once this battle is over and the Legion is gone we'll have proved our loyalty and no questions against it should still be floating around."

"I'm not sure that Vindication will come. I'm not sure that we'll be able to win this." Armin piped up quietly after a moment. "Let me ask the both of you one question, and please answer it honestly. Are you on this side of the divide between the 104th because you believe Mikasa is being falsely accused? Or is it because you're offended by the idea that the others could have ever questioned your resolve?"

"And just what the hell are you trying to say?" the ash blonde demanded.

"Are you trying to tell us that you don't believe her?"

He shook his head. "All that I'm saying is I don't know what to think any more. The world used to be so simple, so cut and dried. But now I'm starting to wonder if the color palate extends beyond black and white."

"Do you suspect her of something, or not?"

"What Annie has been saying is possible; as I told you a few months ago, I really do believe Mikasa to be unstable." Armin confessed. "Her behavior has been noticeably strange ever since she came into contact with Rivaille on the night that he thwarted Eren's execution and stole the Hand."

"But she's always been so unflappable." Marco protested quietly. "Even a monster like him couldn't possibly affect her. What could he have said that could have managed to unseat her?"

"You're right in saying that it would take a lot. More than a lot. But everyone has weak points, and a breaking point, and they say that he is the best at finding them; shattering Hunters is what he has a reputation for. I have no way of knowing what was said, but I do know that when I got there he was gone and she was staring at her hand with a horrified look on her face."

"Was she bleeding? Could she have been bitten after all?"

"No; no cuts, just bruises."

"What could have upset her so much?" Jean questioned. "We're talking about the girl who, at only 9, stared down a screaming drill sergeant without even flinching."

"Something like telling her that their shared last name isn't a coincidence, even if it isn't true." The blonde replied. "If Annie is correct and she is responsible for leaving the circles behind, she would have to be possessed of at least some Vampire blood. It's already been proven that she's not a Turned and if she were a Pure Blood she'd be dead from the stunt that she pulled with the Holy Water but it's possible that she's a Half Blood."

"…Not really." The ash blond drawled. "Aside from Rivaille the entire clan of Ackerman-meaning Kenny-hate Humans. There's no way in hell that she could possibly be his child."

"Jean, Rivaille is Kenny's Nephew not his son. And that would mean that there is at least one other Ackerman; he could be her long lost brother for all that we know." Marco pointed out. "I think Armin's theory is worth investigating."

"And what the hell are we going to do if we find out she really _is_ a Half Blood?" Jean snapped. "You both know the old saying 'ignorance is bliss'? I say that we stay ignorant for as long as possible."

"If you want to stay out of it I can't blame you. But something she said to me a few nights ago, that it's not a choice between Good and Evil but the choice with the least regret, that's been bothering me. Namely the fact that she wouldn't answer me when I asked her what choice that was for her."

"You think there could be something going on here? That maybe the Legion aren't really the evil ones after all?"

He nodded. "Eren turning on us was bad enough, but it's still true that his emotional mindset makes him fairly easy to manipulate. But Mikasa too? If they're _both_ drinking the Kool-aid, we're missing something. Something big. Something that Dok and the others here probably don't want us to know."

"Ok! This is the moment where I make one thing very clear!" Jean howled. "The _only_ reason I'm sticking around is to make sure that you two conspiracy theorists don't get in over your heads and do something stupid, like decide to go looking for an in-person interview on the matter with Rivaille!"

"We need to get into the secret archives; if what we're looking for will be anywhere in the Order's possession it will be there."

"The secret archives? The mini-library that you have to be authorized by the Supreme Commander himself to get into?" he repeated, amber eyes wide. "Are you really suggesting that we break into the Papal Palace? We don't even know if what we're looking for will be there!"

"It's a crime, I'm well aware of that, but we'll be fine as long as we don't get caught."

"Yeah? Well, the same thing goes for Rape and Murder; problem is, you _always _get caught!"

"He's right, though." Marco spoke up. "We need that information, and the only place it will be if it exists at all in in the secret archives. We don't have a choice. And we likely don't have much time."

"We'll need gear to get passed the guards, won't we? Meet out front in 10 minutes." All three were in a scramble to grab the needed supplies and get out front without running into the others. They managed to escape the notice of their friends, barely, and arrived at the front of the Papal Palace within 5 minutes of leaving the barracks behind. Crouching in the bushes, the trio examined the building and waited as the blonde formulated a plan.

"Hiding in a bush? Can we _get_ anymore cliché and obvious?" Jean demanded in a hiss.

"There wasn't exactly anywhere else we could hide." Marco pointed out.

"It looks like there's guards stationed at the front, likely at the back as well. And they're probably inside as well so we'll have to be quiet and we won't be able to turn any lights on. Every 10 minutes the patrol guard passes by with a dog. The archives are on the top floor; best course of action would be to enter from the roof." Armin told them. "The ceiling should be thin enough, with how old this building is, that we can cut through it with our blades. But we'll have to act fast; we have to take part in the fighting once it does break out to avoid suspicion on the part of the others and we won't be able to return afterwards as the hole will likely have been discovered by then. So whatever we're going to figure out we have to figure out now."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Will we need a look out?"

"No, but keep an ear out; we'll hear someone coming before they manage to open the door."

"Let's get going, then." Jean was the first to leave the bush once the patrol guard had passed, firing off his hooks and swinging up onto the roof with the other two right behind. "Alright Mr. Michangelo, exactly where is the archive room?"

"We should be standing above it now." Armin told him. "Try cutting the hole. I'm not entirely sure that this will work, but we have to try."

The blade slid into the surface beneath their feet with only a small amount of difficulty. "Nah, it's fine. This could take a few minutes though; these things aren't exactly meant for sawing." Finally the hole in the roof was large enough to fit through, and the three of them lowered themselves one by one into the room below. Small for a library, it was severely cramped and filled with enormous floor to ceiling book cases. It was dark, the air dusting and hot and smelling of ink and old parchment. "How are we supposed to see anything in here? Even in the middle of the day it's too damn dark!"

Marco, who had vanished behind another self a minute or so prior, reappeared with three candles. "I found these on a table towards the window. Matches too."

"Those will work, just be careful not to light anything on fire." Matches were struck and lit candles passed around. "Alright, we need records. Old documents. Texts. Journals. Anything on the Military Police or the Ackerman Clan. Anything that looks even remotely suspicious."

"If you want to hide a tree, put it in a forest."

The blonde nodded. "Exactly. Now, let's get to looking." Soft footsteps. The fluttering of pages. The thudding of a book on the table on the occasion that one of the trio sat down by the window to page through their finds.

"Anything?"

"I found something out about the Arckemans," Marco replied. "At one point there were three brothers; Kenny, the eldest, Garad, the middle brother, and Alias who was the youngest. Originally Garad Ackerman started and lead the MP but he turned it over to Kenny in 1201 and in 1805 was killed by the order. It doesn't say much about what happened to Alias."

"I found a moth nest." Jean informed them helpfully, perusing another shelf before catching sight of an enormously tattered book and pulling it out. The title was in Latin and unintelligible to him but the letter that dropped out from between the pages-parchment cracked and yellowed and ink faded-was neatly penned in English. Bending down, he picked it up. "Guys, what did you say the name of the Military Police's founder was?"

"Garad." Armin answered as he came around the corner. "Why?"

"Because I think I just found the tree you were talking about." He said. "It's a letter. From Kenny. To a former Supreme Commander. Thanking him for the Order's service." He held it out. "Read it."

_Supreme Commander,_

_ Allow me first to thank you for rendering your services in regards to the issue of my brother, Garad. Though it is, to say the least, disappointing that the cur boy managed to escape the blades you sent I am sure that I will manage to find some manner of use for him in the event that he is found and recovered. Payment for their favor is enclosed within, and I hope that our off the books relationship can continue in the future._

_Kenny Ackerman_

"It's dated 1805, the same year that Garad was killed. This must be Rivaille's father." He handed it over to Marco. "Evidence of past corruption, and reasonable suspicion that the corruption continues today. But nothing about any connection to Mikasa. We've been here since noon and it's getting dark, but if we keep looking we should be able to-." The blaring of the alarms from outside cut him off.

"Looks like we're out of time." Jean noted. "The battle has started. We need to leave."

"Hold on to that letter; don't let anyone see it! We'll figure this out once things have died down again! For now, we do what is expected of us and play our parts."

"Fulfilling roles." Jean grumbled, pulling himself back up through the hole in the ceiling. "That's all we ever do."

The blaring alarms sounded almost the moment that they set foot in the city, the cobble stones of the abandoned streets thudding beneath their feet as they came in from the North, red eyes flaring and blades at the ready.

"Everyone has already splintered off into their assigned battle squads and will remain that way for the time being until Gamine can bring down the wards." Rivaille called to them. "To the rooftops; get off the streets so that they can't get the drop on us! We need to get to the Northmost district before they lower the wards; hurry!" With grace possessed only by predators the five leapt high, alighting on the roof tops above with the slate tiles making small tinging sounds beneath the soles of their boots as they continued to race the wind, the tiny black shape struggling to keep up even on wing. Catching sight of oncoming figures, he veered to the right. "Hunters incoming; scatter! Don't engage yet!" Wind whipped passed him as he landed on a roof top nearby, a flash of light and heat caressing his face as the glowing sword slammed against cold steel. "_Damn it Eren!"_

"Just go! I'll hold them off and join up with Farlan and Isabelle!"

_He can handle it._ But that knowledge did little to make it any less difficult to leave the brunet on his own to fight against three Vatican guards. _He can handle it, eyes forwards!_

"Aren't we going to go back for him?" Petra called as they fell back into loose formation.

"No; he'll be fine. We can't afford to get trapped away from our assigned district or the plan will fall apart! Once we reach North district spread out and cover ground but be sure to keep in contact and back each other up if it looks like someone needs it."

"Yes, sir!"

They barely made it to their positions before the wards slammed down from above like rock walls, enormous cages of blinding light enclosing a space anywhere from five to ten city blocks in size. The sounds of battle already raged throughout the ancient city, the hiss of compressed gas and the clashing of blades intermittent against the swell and fall of the blaring alarms. The walls of the wards surrounding them glowed a searing gold, wavering slightly like a ship's sails in the wind and by contrast reducing the areas they enclosed in deep shadow. Occasionally he'd catch sight of the flash of a forest green cloak whizzing by on the other side of one of the barriers or the black-cut silhouette of Hunters weaving in and out of the enclosures but none of them dared to enter to Northern ward and confront him, leaving the experience fighter on edge. Where was the brat? Was he alright? Had he met up with the other two or was he trapped somewhere alone? He'd better not be harmed or there would be hell to pay. A jay shrieked from a nearby park as the night wind blew through his hair and lifted his cloak, cold and heavy with the promise of coming rain. The impact of metal on stone a split second before he appeared was the only warning he had to bring up his blades to trap those of the dark figure that had materialized out of the dark and dared to come after him alone. Very brave, or else very stupid. One look at him, at the dark hair and hard face and black eyes, was all it took for him to know who it was and a wrathful sneer spread across his face.

"I'd begun to wonder when one of you would work up the courage to come and face me," sparks sprang to life from the locked blades as the raven welcomed the strain of the other's pressure against his own. "You must be Nile Dok."

"Where, exactly, have the three of you been?" Ymir barked at them when they landed on the building roof top beside her. "Hiding under the bed?"

"We were in the library, actually."

"What's wrong, needed to do some last minute studying? _In case the three of you boys haven't noticed, we're fighting a war here!"_

"We know! That's why we came rushing out the minute we heard the alarm sound!" Jean snapped back. "What's happened so far?"

"We managed to clear maybe three of the smaller districts out, but it was a harder fight than we anticipated! They're not the divided, chaotic mess that we expected; they had insider information about the District Wards and split up into squads before-hand to combat our trump card!" She hissed back, releasing the bloody blades from their handles and changing them out for new ones before wiping the blood away from a cut on her face with the back of her hand. "You've killed around 50 of them by this point, but have suffered at least double that number of casualties ourselves! We sent for reinforcements from the nearest town over, but they were wiped out by a contingent of the bastards that showed up late to the party and ended up locked out!"

"100 dead? Already?"

She nodded grimly. "At least. A few got stranded without gas. Others ran out of workable blades. Some had their lines stripped. Those _things _mob any Hunters they see! But we have them trapped, so we'll still be able to pull this off but if those wards fall…"

"You should head back and refuel; we'll cover you."

"I plan on doing that, yeah. The others are all spread out throughout Rome but if I'm to be entirely honest with you I don't know whose alive and who isn't anymore." The brunet told them. "Don't go North, whatever you do; Dok is headed there to engage with that short bastard and he's specifically ordered no one follow him."

"He's the only one qualified to take him on anyway." The blonde reasoned quietly. "Where's Mikasa? Do you know?"

"One of the Eastern wards, last I heard. She met up with Leonhart, Muscles and Beanstalk but they don't need anymore help! If you're going anywhere, head West; that's where they last say Eren."

As the other headed back towards Vatican City to refuel the three of them exchanged glances.

"Do we really want to get involved in fighting them?" the freckled raven asked the other two nervously. "If we do, they might not take it well when we show up and say we want to help them. And considering what was in that letter…"

"We won't fight unless we have to, but we definitely can't just sit here." Jean reasoned. "Let's head West and scope things out. We'll try not to get involved in any fighting, but we may not have a choice."

Disengaging his blades from the other and leaping backwards, the raven took the time to better study his opponent with appraising eyes.

"I've heard a great deal about you over the years. Would it surprise you to know that?" he inquired calmly, taking careful note of even the tiniest movement the other made. "You, the true leader of the Rose pulling the strings behind the scenes of the Pope's figure head. Shrewd. Calculating. Able. Of all the Hunters in this world, I'm glad that it's you who has chosen to challenge me tonight."

"And why would that be?" the other man snarled, examining him just as closely.

"Because it's been a long time since I've stood on equal footing with an opponent, Human or otherwise. A long time since I've had a chance to have a battle that doesn't end within seconds."

"You consider me a worthy foe, then?"

Considering this for a moment, he nodded. "That is one way to put it, I suppose. I don't intend to go easy and I expect you to do the same."

"I'd never do scum like you the courtesy of 'going easy'!"

Blades flashed silver and clashed again as the distance between them was closed with explosive force. "Expect nothing less from me." Equal footing wasn't entirely accurate, but it couldn't be denied that the man was an incredible fighter; they grappled against each other for a while until one would disengage and then attempt another strike that the other would block. Tiring quickly of the game of push and pull, the raven leapt clear and darted to the left across another roof top, smirking when the other followed on his heels and kept up as best he could. Coming to the end of a block he took a flying leap across the divide only to brace against the wall and rebound towards his pursuer in a whirl of spinning blades. Mid-freefall his opponent had no way to react and was sent plummeting to the ground in a crescent of severed wires and blood. Landing silently a few feet away the raven slowly approached, cautious of the blades lying close enough to grab. "Ten minutes," he said as he kicked them away. "I think that's a world record."

"Have you come down to gloat before you finish me off then, monster?" the other spat, flecks of blood spotting his lips as he tried and failed to get back to his feet.

"I have no intention of killing any of those who aren't on my list, unless evidence of working with my Uncle comes to light later." Rivaille drawled, dropping to his haunches beside the other and pawing through the contents of his gear belt.

"So you're just going to rob me and leave me to bleed then?"

"Keep talking and I might!" He snapped back, at last locating the flare gun and pulling it out. "Now, which one did the brat say was 'in distress' again? Not green." He tossed the cartridge aside with a clatter. "Ah, black was what it was!" Loading the correct color into the gun, he pointed it towards the sky and fired it off; a pillar of black smoke immediately went high into the sky standing out starkly against the golden walls. This done, he dropped the flare gun and started walking away. "I wish you a swift and full recovery Mr. Dok. You and I will be speaking again very soon."

"Do you see that?!"

"I'm pretty sure the entire city sees that; those have been going up way too often!"

"But that one is in North District. Where Dok is fighting with Rivaille, alone."

Berthold, Annie and Reiner stood on a roof top covered head to toe in blood-some their own and some belonging to defeated Vampires-cuts and bruised in a newly cleared district.

"Others will go and help him," the smaller blonde told the other two. "More importantly, where the hell is Mikasa?"

"She was with us a few minutes ago during the battle." Reiner replied. "Said something about doubling back to refuel before heading out to the Eastern front."

"Alone?"

"No, she was with some of the guard so I figured it would be ok. Besides, we were in the middle of fighting a battle at the time, there wasn't much I could do."

The tallest of the three glanced between his companions nervously. "Should we go after her?" the other two took off across the rooftops instead of wasting the time to answer, leaving Berthold no choice but to follow or be left behind. The Vatican was silent when they reached it, guarded only by the wards. The main courtyard entirely deserted.

"We need to check the supply room; if that's really what she'd up to that's where they'll all be." The only sounds in the area were the distant echoes of battle and their own hurried footsteps bouncing off the walls around them. In the deep shadow of the wards, it was disconcerting to say the least. The little room appeared quickly on their left; Reiner slammed the door open quickly and they all three rushed inside, nearly slipping in the blood smeared across the floor; the crimson color was splattered halfway up the walls and dripped from the ceiling, the shredded remnants of torn uniforms and shattered gear lay strewn about amidst the twisted forms almost unrecognizable as bodies.

"It's a massacre!" Throwing up one arm to cover his mouth and nose as he gagged against the thick metallic scent hanging heavy in the air. "Rogue, all over again!"

"Only this time it isn't Eren behind the killings." Annie growled, rushing out of the room ahead of the other two. "We need to get to the Ward Room!" Down a nearby hallway and around a corner, only to find the door to the correct passageway refused to budge.

"It's locked!" Berthold wailed. "What do we do now?"

"Bust it down," Reiner growled. "Help me!" The thick wooden door shuddered against the first blow with a loud clatter, but refused to budge. A second and then a third was met with the same resistance until the old lock finally had enough and came free in a shower of wood chippings. It was almost pitch black in the passageway that lead to the lower floors, but a lantern burned brightly in the room that housed the turbine generating the Mid and District wards, throwing just enough light onto the face of the figure kneeling in front of it for them to be entirely sure who it was. Finishing whatever it was that she'd been doing, the ravenette got to her feet and turned to face them with a blank expression, the fire light flickering in her grey eyes making them seem orange in hue like a cat's.

"If you were going to stop me, you should have been here 20 minutes ago." Her voice was deceptively calm, but the cold edge to it didn't escape either of the three. "I'm sure that you've seen the guards by now; what's left of them. Try and stop me and I'll have no choice but to do the same to the three of you."

"Skilled as you may be, you're outnumbered. Fighting isn't going to get you anywhere." Reiner pointed out.

"No good? Fighting is the only way I'll ever win; fight:win; win:live; lose:die. It's that lesson which I've always been most thankful to my brother for. I've always been observant to it."

"How long must they have tortured you to make you break?"

"I was never tortured. Never held captive. The Legion taught me who I was, reunited me with not just my adoptive sibling but a living blood relative. My cousin isn't evil, but our Uncle is. And the highest leadership has been catering to the ruler of the Military Police all along."

"You expect us to believe that?" Annie hissed icily. "You're just as crazy as your brother is! And we'll put you down like the animal you are!"

The almost indiscernible fangs flashed in the low light. "Will you?" Glancing over one shoulder, she examined the device latched to the generator with a lazy expression. "If that's the case, you have just over 2 minutes before that goes off and Mid Ward falls."

"Reiner, Berthold deal with that device! I'll take care of the half breed!" The two leapt into action as the blonde engaged the ravenette, reaching the generator the other two crouched down to better examine the situation at hand.

"If there were ever I time I wish that Arlert were with us it's now." Reiner grunted. "I don't know a damn thing about explosives. Do you?"

Berthold shook his head. "No. I never bothered to take the engineering course at the academy but even if I had I doubt it would help. I think this is some sort of magic item."

"As if it could get any worse! What's next? Is Dracula going to come popping out of no were?" He snapped, grabbing a hold of one of the wires and attempting to yank it free but it refused to budge. "There's not even a timer on this time! How are we supposed to know how long we have left?"

"I don't know, I haven't been keeping track!" The taller of the two was sweating bullets more than usual as a loud clatter and then the sound of breaking stone rang out from behind them as Annie was thrown into a wall.

"That's it, I'm cutting wires!"

"No, don't! That might make it go off faster!" His panic was clear.

"I've got to try something, we can't have more than seconds left! Blue or red!"

"Neither!"

A shrill shrieking sound rang out from the little device as the metal began to glow white. A very strong force grabbed them from behind by their collars and tossed them across the room just as the explosion went off; a blinding flash of white light filling the room as the generator imploded. Dazed and blinded, the three took a moment to gather themselves and adjust to the lighting and when they could finally see again quickly noticed the ravenette's form lying a few feet away on her side with her back to them.

"I-Is she dead?" Berthold squeaked as a badly bruised and winded Reiner rolled up onto all fours. Annie, one blade broken and the other dull and sporting a gash on her forehead which dripped blood into her eyes, got slowly to her feet without comment and cautiously approached their opponent, nudging her with the toe of her boot and then crouching down to check for a pulse.

"Not dead, unconscious." She reported. "We need to restrain her; a chain should do for now." Locating one fairly quickly, the three chained their still unconscious captive before dragging her into an unused room.

"Now what? They're outside the inner ward by now, and with how small our numbers have become how are we going to push them back?"

"By making it quite clear to her 'cousin' that his plan for the fall of the wards has been thwarted."

"And just how are we going to do that?" Reiner demanded as Berthold stood looking on.

"I have a plan, and I know that it will work." Annie replied, unwinding the scarf from around the ravenette's neck only to pause on catching sight of the thin chain disappearing below the neckline of her uniform. Tugging on it gently revealed a small ornate glass vial filled with a thick red liquid; pulling it free, she examined it closely for a moment before nodding to herself. "We'll use this. Let's go."

Just as they'd suspected, the Legion's forces were now clashing with theirs in the streets just outside of Vatican City. Rivaille and Eren were standing together on a nearby roof top as the sun began to lighten the sky in shades of pink and gold.

"Where is she?" the brunet demanded, eyes squinting slightly as he scanned the crowd. "It shouldn't take this long, should it?"

"Patience, brat. Give her a few minutes; are the Mid and Central wards not kept in separate rooms?" the raven replied calmly. "Though you're right to be on edge. The sun is rising and day light will put us at a disadvantage. Even if Gamine does manage to bring down the wards at this very moment I don't think our battle will be won tonight."

"It won't ever be won! Not by you!" The pair turned around to see a trio of figures alight on the roof top nearby.

"Annie." Eren's voice was flat, eyes narrowed. "Reiner. Berthold. It's been a while."

Instead of answering the blonde at the front tossed the item in her hand at Rivaille who reflexively caught it. "Did you really think we wouldn't stop her?"

The little vial dangled from the chain wrapped around his fingers, catching the light of the rising sun as it swung back and forth.

"Mikasa!" Eren yelped, shock quickly giving way to fury as he started forward but Rivaille grabbed hold of his arm and yanked him backwards.

"Hold your temper, brat! I'll handle this." Berthold looked ready to bolt at any time as the raven drew closer across the roof until he was standing directly in front of them, eyes boring into Annie's blue ones unflinchingly. "Threatening my family is most unwise, little girl. This only delays our plans; we will still win this war, and when we do if I find even a single hair out of place on her head I will single handedly eradicate every man woman and child in Vatican city, chop of their heads and mount them of spike for the crows! Take that to your superiors!" Turning to Eren again he said "sound the retreat, brat. We need to regroup."

The call for retreat quickly spread through the ranks and the Legion's forces cleared out quickly, vanishing like morning mist baked away by the sun. With the threat gone for the moment the trio returned to the sagety of the central ward and met up with the remainder of the 104th who were still on their feet.

"How bad is the damage?" No one was entirely sure who asked it.

"Our forces are at around 40% of what they were last night; that's a 60% loss. The Legion can't have suffered more than 20%." Krista was the first to speak.

"Not surprising, considering they had superior numbers to begin with." Armin pointed out. "Of the 40% remaining, how many of those are injured badly enough that they can't keep fighting?"

"12%, including Dok."

"Ymir ran out of gas during the last few minutes of the fighting and crashed, Sasha got thrown through a window and cut up pretty badly and Connie has a concussion." Krista informed them with a sigh. "Luckily it seems like they'll all be ok."

"Where's Mikasa." Marco piped up, looking around only to be met with the trio's stony faces.

"In a jail cell, courtesy of what's left of the guard. She _was_ working with the Legion and brought down the ward with some sort of explosive device." Annie informed him sharply. "She was a half blood all along and we never knew!"

"It seems like she was working alone after all," Berthold put in. "Sorry for suspecting the three of you as well, but can you really blame us?"

"Heightened caution." Jean drawled, but there was something about his tone that made it clear his pride hadn't healed.

"I'd like to speak to her, if that's alright." The blonde said quietly. "Can you point me in the right direction? There are some questions I'd like to ask that she may answer now that concealing the truth isn't an issue."

"I wouldn't if I were you. She's dangerous."

"We'll go with him." Marco said quickly. "Right Jean?" the ash blonde's only reply was a small nod.

"The stockade is on the lower floor to the east of the grounds isn't it? The guards would have brought her there by now, but she might not be conscious when you get there. She was out cold when we left."

"We'll just have to see." It took about 15 minutes and a handful of wrong turns before they finally managed to locate the stockade; in the furthest most cell they found her curled up on the cot facing away from them.

"Mikasa." No answer. "Mikasa, please! We only want to talk to you!"

"And what if I have nothing to say?" she replied coldly. "What then?"

With a sigh, the blonde turned to his two companions. "Who has the letter?"

"Oh, I do!" Fumbling around in his pockets for a moment, Marco produced the worn thin parchment and handed it over. "Here."

The crackling of paper seemed to have piqued her interest because she'd turned towards them enough to be able to peer at them through one eye. Armin pushed his hand through the bars on the cell door and held it out to her. "Please, at least read this. I think you'll find it very interesting."

A momentary pause before she reluctantly got off of the cot and walked over to take the letter. Carefully unfolding the yellowed paper she scanned the contents swiftly, face falling with each line until she reached the end and looked up at them again. "Where did you get this?"

"We starting thinking that there was more to what was really going on here, so we decided to take a look for ourselves." Jean told her. "We broke into the secret archives yesterday looking for information; that's why we were late to the fighting."

"And this is what you found?" the nodded as she folded it up and handed it back. "He'd always known, I think, that this was the truth behind what happened to his family. Still, to know it's true…to think anyone could be that evil as to order the killing of your own blood?" A shudder passed up her frame. "What are you planning to do, knowing that the Rose is corrupted to its core? Will you continue resisting the Legion, or will you help since it's now clear that we really _ar_e doing what is right_?"_

"Who has the key to your cell? We'll let you out."

"No, that will only make things worse." She told them. "You have to find Enzio; ask him if he has another detonator, or if he knows of anything else that could bring down a ward. And then get that information to Rivaille along with that letter, I think he'd like to see it for himself."

"And just where are we supposed to find this 'Enzio'?" Jean demanded. "Even evacuated, Rome is _huge_! Not to mention that the Legion doesn't know we're not the enemy."

"I think I can help you find him, but you'll have to get some things for me first." Mikasa said. "For one thing, it's very cold down here and I know I'll be stuck for at least a few more hours. The guards took my scarf; it should be in the dispatch room."

"I'll get it," Armin said, setting out quickly back down the hall to the correct room and retrieving the red fabric. "Here," he passed it to her through the bars and she immediately wrapped it around her neck. "What else?"

"If you'd head up to my room and look in the desk drawer you'll find a calligraphy set. Bring me that, the rice paper you find with it, a pair of scissors and a lighter." An odd list, but by this point the three weren't about to question her. Heading out of the stockade block they went up to her room and carefully searched the premises for the requested items. Back in her cell, they found that she'd somehow manage to unscrew the bolts binding the cot to the wall and had pulled it out a few inches.

"Here's everything you asked for." Marco said as they maneuvered the odd assortment of seemingly haphazard objects into the cell. "What is all of this for, exactly?"

"You'll see." She replied, unscrewing the lid and pouring a bit of the ink into the cap before holding the flame under it until it boiled away and a fine black powder was left behind. From there she constructed the circle on the portion of floor that would he concealed once the bed was back in place and cut the paper into shape before stuffing everything under the bed and shifting it back into place.

"So that's what those circles were for!" Armin exclaimed, seemingly fascinated by the floating paper figure.

"What _is_ that thing?"

"Shikigami." The ravenette replied before turning to address it. "I have a job for you this time not a message. These are my three friends; they're going to help us win this war. Take them to the black market magic trader, and then to Rivaille." The paper construct immediately flew passed them and out the door. "Follow it; it might take a while but you'll eventually end up where you need to be."

"Thank you."

She nodded, pulling the soft red fabric up over her face. "You'd better hurry before the others realize you're gone."


End file.
